Crisis of Dimensions
by Aprotny
Summary: Dick Grayson has been missing for some time. When Wally finally finds him, it's in an alternate dimension, one where the superpowered heroes they know make up the evil Lords of Divine Justice. It's going to be a long path home, and the misfortunes are just beginning. Now a 4 Arc Story. Rated T for violence and disturbing subject matter.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/n) There will possibly be a large amount of time between updates. I am hoping posting will encourage me to write. (A/n)**

Every once in a while, Dick Grayson, aka Robin, would almost forget where he came from before the endless experiments and pain. Then, he'd go back to clinging to his past as a way to survive.

He was a smart boy. He knew by now that the only reason Batman hadn't rescued him was because he was somewhere out of Batman's reach. He had figured out that he was in an entirely different dimension. Somewhere where Batman didn't exist and the Justice League was evil.

Still, he prayed that someday he would be rescued, and that someday the pain would end.

All he could do was attempt to last long enough for that day to come.

* * *

"I can't believe it! I can't believe you're giving up the search for Robin!" Wally West, aka Kid Flash, shouted.

"Wally, calm down." Barry Allen, Wally's uncle, the Flash, said.

"And you're forcing Batman to go on other missions so that he doesn't spend his time searching for his missing kid?! Unbelievable!" Wally continued.

"Wally, there's not much we can do. We've tried everything. Robin's nowhere to be found." Artemis Crock, Wally's girlfriend, attempted.

"You know what?! If you're not going to search for him, I will! And the Justice League can't stop me, because _I QUIT_!"

The gathered heroes, including Barry, Artemis, and the entire Young Justice team, stared as Wally stormed out via Zeta Tube.

"He doesn't mean that. I'll talk some sense into him." Artemis offered.

Barry hummed in worry. Something told him that Wally meant exactly what he said, and that they wouldn't see him again for a long time.

* * *

Wally watched through the security cameras as his suspects chatted. Before Dick had disappeared, he had taught Wally a thing or two about hacking, and Wally had greatly improved due to the necessity to use that skill. It had been two months since he quit the team to search for Dick and he felt that this was the closest he'd gotten to real suspects.

He stiffened as the conversation changed to what he was hoping to hear.

 _"I can't believe Batman hasn't found out what we did to his kid yet! I mean, we covered our tracks well, but not that well!"_

 _"Well, we've moved location several times since we sent the kid into that other dimension. So even if he managed to track us to where we threw the kid through the portal, he wouldn't be able to find us now."_

 _"Hush. You never know what could happen. Someone could be watching us right now."_

 _"Don't worry, Miguel. The device is locked up in the vault and well guarded. Even if someone is watching, they can't do anything about it and they certainly can't get the kid back."_

Wally smirked and pulled up footage of a vault on the other side of the building from where his suspects were. He also pulled up a map of the building. "Challenge accepted."

He raced through the building and easily took out the guards in front of the vault. There, he hacked the lock and broke in. The alarm went off, but it didn't matter. There was only one device in the vault. Wally snatched it and scrammed. He was gone by the time the criminals reached the vault.

A good few miles away, Wally looked the device over. It seemed simple enough to work. However, it seemed you were only able to jump in one direction.

Wally huffed. He could either use the device and jump into the other dimension to find Dick, and potentially have a long journey home, or he could return to his family in failure.

"I'm too close to give up now." He mumbled to himself. "I hope I don't regret this. Next dimension, here I come."

He activated the device and a portal opened in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he jumped... and tumbled into the next dimension.

* * *

Dick was having trouble breathing. Nine months as Bullet's test subject had really taken a toll on him. He forced himself to breathe in and out over and over again. He was not going to give up. He would not let himself die. He was going to survive. He had to.

The cell door opened. No, please, not now. He had to pull himself together before any more experiments.

"Yes. I found another one." The voice was familiar. Almost like his Mamica's...

No. His Mamica was dead. If he was hearing her voice, did that mean he was dead too?

"All right. Be there soon." Dick was able to make out a blurry figure. She looked like his Mamica too… "Hang in there, Kid. We're getting you out of here."

Breathing, which had already been difficult for Dick, became even more difficult as the woman picked him up.

"Hang in there." His Mamica - no. Not his Mamica. His Mamica was dead. - told him.

Things got chaotic for a bit. It seemed that Woman-who-looked-like-his-Mamica was fighting someone. It briefly crossed his mind that he was possibly being rescued. But that thought didn't last long as breathing got still more difficult for him and he had to focus all his mental ability on making sure he didn't stop breathing.

He hung on the brink of death for a while, almost an hour, before his mind suddenly blanked out.

"He's not breathing!"

* * *

Wally wandered around the other dimension for a while, seeing what he could find out about this place. He made sure to keep a hood over his head to conceal his identity. Didn't want to be mistaken for his counterpart if he had a counterpart here. He'd made sure to close the portal behind him, so no one could go into his world without him. The device was safely hidden at the bottom of his bag.

No one paid him much attention unless he spoke to them, and he only spoke to someone every once in a while.

By drinking in the sights and speaking with several citizens, Wally managed to learn a lot about the world he'd landed in. First off, the people that belonged to the 'Justice League' in his dimension were either dead, never born, or part of the 'Lords of Divine Justice' in this dimension. Uncle Barry's counterpart was known as Bullet and was part of the Lords of Divine Justice; most of his other loved ones were either off radar or never born; and he didn't bother asking about his friends.

Nobody had seen the Dick from his dimension, but Wally had a general theory about what might've happened to him from what he'd learned about the dimension: there was a good chance he was kidnapped to be a test subject for Bullet.

The thought gave him the chills and he prayed that he wasn't too late, that he could still find and rescue Dick. First things first, he had to find someone to help him. There was no way he could possibly go up against the Lords of Divine Justice to rescue Dick on his own.

There were rumors of a resistance. Wally would have to find them. No matter what happened, they would be a great asset while he was in this dimension, so he'd better start looking.


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/n) I feel I might've had Wally a little out of character in the last chapter. I will try my best to get him more in character, but no promises. The first summary I posted this story with is only a small part of the big picture, the problem that gets the story running. I will be changing that soon. In the meantime, enjoy this long chapter.(A/n)**

Wally knew he had to change tactics. It had been nearly a week and he still hadn't found the Resistance. Maybe instead of going to them he could have them come to him? But how would he go about doing that? He had to figure out something. Otherwise, he wouldn't find Dick until it was too late. His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion nearby.

"No! Please! I haven't done anything wrong!" A girl about Dick's age was being dragged, kicking and screaming, towards a van by two strong men. A thin man stood watching nearby.

"Yeah yeah. Tell it to the Lords." The thin man said.

"No! Please! Let me go!" The girl cried.

"Hey!" Wally intervened without thinking. "Let her go!"

The thin man and strong men looked over at him in surprise, which soon warped into anger.

"Unless you want to go see the Lords too, I suggest you stay out of this." The thin man snarled.

The girl roundhouse kicked one of the strong men in a pressure point near the neck while he was distracted. He dropped like a stone.

The other strong man grabbed the struggling girl's other arm and slammed his head into hers, successfully knocking her out.

Wally had seen enough. He sped into action and easily fought and knocked out the second strong man. The thin man was an even easier KO. He clearly wasn't expecting that much of a fight.

Wally grabbed the girl and raced out of the city he'd been in, which was in Gotham's location. He didn't know where he was going until he reached the destroyed gate of Wayne Manor. He looked up towards the manor to find it in ruins.

"Whelp. Definitely no Batman in this dimension." He mumbled. He climbed over the gate and found a place on the grounds for him and the girl to hide.

It was about an hour and a half before the girl came to. Wally covered her mouth before she could cry out.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He slowly removed his hand from her mouth. "My name's Wally. What's yours?"

"How do I know I can trust you?" The girl whispered.

"Well, take a look around. You're certainly not at the fortress of the Lords of Divine Justice. That was where they were taking you, right?" Wally said.

The girl looked around. "Why are we at the ruins of Wayne Manor?"

"Instinct, I think. I was looking for a place to hide and my feet carried me here."

"You've hidden here before?"

"Yes and no. You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Wally took a deep breath. "Well, I jumped here from another dimension. My best friend was sent here by kidnappers. He's surely around here somewhere, but I'm not sure where. In my dimension, this place isn't ruined and my best friend lives here." He paused. "I really hope he's okay. He disappeared a while ago and I only figured out what happened to him like a week ago. From what I've managed to learn of this place in the past week, it isn't exactly the safest place to be a kid."

The girl stared at him. "It's true that this isn't exactly a safe place for kids. My older sister was captured by the LDJ when I was ten. They killed her through experimentation and left her body on the streets outside their fortress. She was all I had. My parents died when I was six and she was eleven. We only had each other until she was taken. Then, it was just me."

"Well, we should stick together then. Maybe you can help me find my friend, since you know this world better than me. I was hoping the Resistance could help me, but I can't find them. If Dick found them, I'm pretty sure he'd stick with them while trying to find a way home. So I'm trying to find the Resistance. The fact they're so well hidden is a good sign though. It means they're hiding somewhere safe. And if Dick's with them, then he's safe. At least for the time being."

He didn't miss the look of relief that crossed the girl's face when he said he hadn't found the Resistance, but he ignored it for the moment.

"My name's Samantha." The girl said. "I want to join the Resistance. We can search together."

"Great." Wally smiled briefly, the smile disappearing as Dick crossed his mind once more. "I just hope we can find them in time to save Dick."

"Don't worry. I'm sure your friend's fine." Samantha told him. "For all we know, he could already have been rescued."

"I sure hope so." Wally murmured.

* * *

"And you're sure they were the last to see Wally?" Flash asked again.

Batman grumbled. "For the hundredth time, _yes_. Wally told me he was investigating this group for ties to Robin's disappearance. That was the last time he contacted me."

Flash nodded slowly, picking up on Batman's irritation. "Just wanted to make sure."

The two adults were currently standing on a building across the way from where their suspects were.

"So…" Flash turned to Batman just to find him gone. "I hate it when he does that." He sped down the side of the building, following the path of destruction left by the dark knight. Soon, he'd caught up and was fighting by his side.

Before long, they reached the bosses. Batman slammed one into the wall while Flash took care of the rest.

"Where are Robin and Kid Flash? Answer me!" Batman growled.

"We don't have them! They're not here!" The man cried.

"Then _where_ are they?" Batman continued.

"Probably a dimension or two over. I don't know much, but it's a one-way device. It only goes in one direction. If they can make it back to this dimension, it probably won't be for a long time." The man revealed.

"This dimension?" Flash inquired. "What do you mean by 'this dimension'?"

The man kept his mouth shut.

Batman put pressure on the man's neck. "Answer him."

"Ack! We've been studying interdimensional travel and we built a device that we think can accomplish it, but we don't know for sure it's safe and we only built it to build a portal to one side of the current dimension. If they didn't leave the portal open, which I doubt they did, they'd need to go full circle to get back here."

"And what does that have to do with Robin and Kid Flash?"

"All we know is that one of the Flashes stole it. Must've been Kid Flash if the Flash is here."

"What about Robin?"

"What about him?"

"Kid Flash was searching for Robin and wouldn't go out of his way to steal a dimensional device that has nothing to do with his search."

"Oh… um… drat, the kid must've overheard us talking."

"Talking about what?" Batman again put pressure on the man's neck.

"I refuse to tell you." Batman slammed the man into the wall again. "Still won't tell you."

"You do _not_ want to deal with an angry Batman." Flash warned.

"Well, I'll be dealing with an angry Batman either way, so I refuse to give the information."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ROBIN?!" Batman roared.

"I… I told you… he's in another dimension…" The man stammered, wetting his pants.

"You said your device wasn't completely safe."

"He's… he's probably fine. It's not like we killed him or anything. We just sent him into another dimension while he was unconscious."

SLAM! The man slumped against the wall that Batman had just thrown him into.

"We've got our answers. Let's go." Flash mentioned hesitantly, frightened by the bat's temper.

Batman stormed out of the building. Flash padded along behind him, not wanting to run back while Batman was in this sort of mood.

They made it to the Zeta tube and Zeta'd to the Watchtower. Batman stormed past everyone and slammed the door to his room, locking it behind him.

"Flash, what happened?" Superman asked once the bat was gone.

Flash sighed. "We found out what happened to Robin... and Kid Flash."

"I wasn't aware Kid Flash was missing." Wonder Woman mentioned. "I thought he was keeping in contact with Batman while he searched for Robin."

"He's probably found Robin by now, but, unfortunately, they're in another dimension and most likely don't know a quick way back. I'll explain the details later. I need time to process this." Flash sounded exhausted. "Oh. And I suggest you don't bring this up to Batman. He's really angry right now."

"We noticed." Hawkwoman commented.

Flash retreated to his room in the Watchtower as well and collapsed on the bad, hoping he'd be able to sleep despite what he'd just learned.

* * *

 **(A/n) Bold Speech is Romani (A/n)**

The first thing Dick was aware of as he came to was a steady beeping sound. A heart monitor. He was still alive?

He struggled to sit up.

A gentle hand pushed him back down.

"Easy, sweetheart. Rest. You're safe now." The voice was achingly familiar. It was the Mamica-like lady from before. Mamica Lady stroked his hair softly in an effort to help him relax.

Dick attempted to force his eyes open. But it just caused a wave of dizziness to cycle through his head. His eyes would not open and he felt horrible. He was so weak…

" **Mamica... Are you Mamica?"**

Mamica Lady froze mid-stroke. " **Romani? I haven't met anyone who speaks Romani in so long… other than my husband, that is."** She resumed stroking his hair, probably trying to ignore the fact that the boy she'd saved had thought she was his mother. " **What's your name, sweetheart?"**

" **Grayson… Richard… Grayson…"** Dick choked out before launching into a coughing fit.

" **Your name is Richard Grayson?"** Mamica Lady tried to hide her surprise. " **How old are you, Richard?"**

" **I was 14... when I was captured... Probably... 15 now…"**

" **And where are you from?"**

" **I live... Gotham… Born… Haley's… Circus…"**

Mamica Lady couldn't hide her surprise anymore. " **Haley's Traveling Circus was disbanded almost twenty years ago! How could you have been born there?!"**

Dick started coughing harder. Some blood came out of his mouth.

" **Never mind. We can talk another time. You shouldn't try to speak right now. You're very ill."** Mamica Lady stood up. " **I'm adding some medicine to your IV. It will make you quite sleepy. Don't worry about anything happening to you while you're asleep. You're safe here."**

Dick didn't respond, still busy coughing up blood.

Soon after, the medicine kicked in, and Dick found himself fading out of consciousness once more.

* * *

Wally kicked a rock in anger and frustration. "This is taking forever! Dick could be dying right now and we wouldn't even know!"

Samantha sighed. They'd been searching together for two weeks, and Wally's frustration had slowly gotten worse and worse. Although he'd somehow managed to mostly earn her trust despite the frustration.

"We'll find him, Wally." She said. "We just need to be patient."

"I've _been_ patient! Searching for them clearly isn't working! How do we locate them if we don't know anything about where they'd be hiding?!"

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." Someone sneered. Wally and Samantha spun around. A group of strong men stood watching them. "Two little kiddies running around after dark. Don't they know the danger of doing so?"

"Back off!" Wally growled. "I can kick your butts easy!"

"Rash now, aren't we?" The same man continued. "Bullet needs more test subjects after his last couple were stolen. You two seem like you would make a good addition to his collection."

"I said, Back off!" Wally snapped.

"Grab them." The man commanded. The strong men surrounded the two teens.

Wally caught the look of fear on Samantha's face and whispered to her. "Let me handle this."

The strong men charged. Wally had them all down in ten minutes using combat moves he'd learned from Black Canary. The strong men clearly weren't trained for that amount of resistance. He figured it would make him a bigger target if he used his superspeed, so he avoided using the ability as best he could.

"Wow…" Samantha whispered. "You're good."

"What do I say? I'm just that awesome!" Wally grinned. "Now come on. We gotta run before they wake up."

"Follow me." Samantha decided. She led Wally back to where they'd first introduced themselves, the grounds of Wayne Manor. "Stay here."

Wally was confused as Samantha ran off. "Wait!" She didn't stop, but did return a few minutes later with a face Wally had seen before only in photographs.

Before the man could speak, Wally blurted out. "You're Thomas Wayne!"

The man raised an eyebrow. "You know of me? You seem a little young to have heard of me."

Wally realized his mistake. "Oh. I heard of you from a friend. It was a while ago. He showed me a photograph." Not a lie. Dick had told him about Thomas and Martha Wayne and showed him photographs before.

"Where are you from, Kid?" Mr. Wayne asked.

"Central City." Wally answered.

"I thought you said you were from a different dimension." Samantha commented dryly.

"I am. But I do have a home in that dimension and it's in Central City." Wally replied.

"Samantha tells me you're looking for the Resistance. Care to explain why?" Mr. Wayne continued.

"You see, my friend was sent into this dimension by kidnappers, and I've been searching for him for months." Wally explained. "I feel like Dick might've seeked refuge with the Resistance. You know, if he wasn't captured by the Lords first. I need to find him, like pronto. I'm… I'm worried about him. It's been months and he could be in bad condition for all I know. I overheard that one of the Lords performs experiments on kids. 'sokay…" His speech sped up, and then he paused. "Wait. Why are you asking me that? Is this a test?"

Mr. Wayne nodded. "Samantha seems to trust you. She has pretty good judgement, so I'll trust her. Follow us."

Wally was super confused but tentatively obeyed. Mr. Wayne led him and Samantha deep into the ruins. On one of the walls was a rectangular set of holes each just big enough to put your finger in. The holes were arranged like a keypad. Mr. Wayne poked his finger in several of the holes. Wally realized he was typing in a code. A door-sized imprint appeared in the wall, receded inward, and moved aside, revealing a staircase.

Wally gasped. "No way. It was here all along?"

Mr. Wayne glanced at him and led the way into the stairwell, making sure the entrance closed behind them. He grabbed a lantern from a set of hooks on the wall just inside and lit it as the sunlight vanished behind them.

Wally looked around as they descended. Dick had snuck him into the Batcave once to show off. (Batman had not been happy.) This place was way bigger than the Batcave, and that was saying something. The area was carved out and several terraces and staircases were jutted into the wall. A large number of people were camped out on the terraces and on the ground below. Mr. Wayne led them down to the middle level, where the Batcave was in Wally's dimension. There was a gap in the floor and another staircase leading down to lower levels.

On the middle level, several men and women were waiting for them. Wally recognized Commissioner Gordon, Lucius Fox, Selena Kyle, and, surprisingly, John Grayson. There were two others he didn't recognize, but he ignored him as Mr. Wayne explained the rules of the establishment and the fact that he would be watched for a few days to ensure he didn't try to betray them.

Wally promised them to obey the rules, while also silently promising himself not to use his superspeed unless absolutely necessary.

Moments later, Mary Grayson emerged from the lower levels. "Samantha, we were worried when you didn't return from your errand. Did you manage to obtain any supplies from Leslie Thompkins?"

"I did, but I lost them when the LDJ's goons attacked me. Sorry, Mrs. Grayson." Samantha replied

"Wait a second! You knew this place was here the whole time?!" Wally exclaimed in disbelief.

"You had to earn my trust before I even considered taking you here." Samantha said simply.

Wally almost groaned before his mind switched gears. "Wait! Do you know if Dick is here? Please! He's got to be okay!"

Samantha looked to Mary for the answer.

"I'm sorry. I don't know a Dick." Mary stated regrettably. "Is there any other name he goes by?"

"Um… His full name is Richard! Richard Grayson! Dick is his nickname!" Wally exclaimed. "Please say you've seen him…"

"Actually, I have. He's very weak right now, but…" Mary didn't get the chance to finish before she was interrupted.

"He's here?! Is he okay?! Can you take me to him?!" Wally asked excitably.

"Yes." Mary held up a finger to silence Wally before he could interrupt again. " _But_ he's very ill. You can't try to wake him, okay? We found him in the last batch of kids we rescued from the LDJ's fortress."

Wally's mind figuratively stuttered to a halt as he processed this new information. Dick had been rescued from the LDJ. _The LDJ had had Dick!_ If it hadn't been for the Resistance... he quickly banished the thought from his head. Dick was still alive. She'd said he was ill, not dead.

Wally took a deep breath. "Take me to him."


	3. Chapter 3

Dick groaned as he awoke. Then, he stiffened. The last thing he remembered was passing out during one of the experiments. He twitched his limbs slightly. All accounted for, but there was an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, an IV stuck in his arm, and what felt like a heart monitor stuck to his finger. Just like when they were getting ready to experiment on him...

His heart rate sped up as he struggled not to panic. He snapped open his eyes and, with adrenaline and panic coursing through him, ripped the IV out of his arm, the oxygen mask off his face, and the heart monitor thing off his finger, and pushed himself off the soft table. Why was it so soft? The table they usually put him on was hard and the floor was even harder.

Shaking the thought away, he landed on his feet and stumbled into a run. Some people were running towards him, probably in an attempt to restrain him, but he dodged easily. He gave a brief thought to the fact he felt better than he had in a while, before pushing that thought to the back of his mind as well.

His body ached and his vision was blurred, but he was determined to escape. He tripped upwards when he reached the staircase, but went into a roll, shakily stood, and started running again.

Other than the people yelling at him to stop, there was no alarm blaring, which was very different from his previous escape attempts. Another thought to push to the back of his mind.

He reached a higher landing and ran smack dab into a familiar teen not much older than him. The familiar teen stumbled back a bit, while Dick fell and hit his head on the ground.

Dick groaned, but quickly got back up and tried to run again, only to be grabbed by the familiar teen.

Dick instinctively flipped and kicked the teen in the face to try to get him to let go of him. It worked for only a split second, before the teen grabbed him again.

"Dude! Not cool!" Dick was startled by the familiar voice. He finally looked at the person who'd managed to catch him, and was shocked to see that it was his best friend, Wally. He looked almost the same as when Dick had seen him last, except he was dressed in civvies and had a red, foot-shaped mark on his face.

The thoughts that he'd pushed to the back of his mind came back and he looked around, finally realizing he was no longer in the Lords' fortress, but somewhere else entirely.

Unfortunately, the realization led to his strength and adrenaline seeping away, and he fainted in Wally's arms.

* * *

Mary had been leading Wally and Samantha down to the medical sector, when, out of nowhere, a small form crashed into Wally.

Wally immediately recognized it as Dick and grabbed him in hopes that seeing a friendly face would calm him down, seeing as he was obviously running from something.

Of course, he realized too late that Dick was currently in a fight or flight state, and received a kick to the face courtesy of the smaller boy.

"Dude! Not cool!" He cried, quickly grabbing his friend again because a) he'd been told Dick was ill, b) he didn't want Dick to run away before being calmed down, and c) Dick looked like he'd pass out any second.

Dick froze up at the sound of his voice. Then, he looked at Wally, and then his surroundings, before finally falling unconscious in Wally's arms.

A group of people made it up the stairs and stopped to catch their breath when they saw Dick was no longer running away.

"What happened, Kelly? Why'd he run?" Samantha asked.

A woman near the front of the group held up a finger as indication to let her catch her breath.

"It might've been the setup. We've had kids panic before due to not realizing they were no longer in the LDJ's fortress. Supposedly, the medical supplies were also used to monitor vitals during Bullet's experiments." The woman, Kelly, answered. "He probably wasn't fully aware of his surroundings and thought he was back there. At least we know he's recovered enough to think for himself. Thank you for catching him, young man."

Wally was hesitant to hand Dick over when one of the men came to take the boy from him. He preferred the thought of carrying Dick down there himself. The boy was far too thin and pale. His clothes barely fit his small form and Wally could see the outlines of bones against his skin. He could easily tell his friend was malnourished, weak, and ill, as Mary had warned him. The doctors allowed him to Wally to hold the boy so as long as he was careful and Wally carried Dick back to the bed he'd been in before. While the doctors reattached the medical equipment, he took a moment to look around.

The medical sector was made up of three rows of seven beds, each bed surrounded by curtains to maintain some amount of privacy. It was on the lowest level of the cavern and some trunks filled with medical equipment that was not currently in use sat at the end of the row farthest from the stairs. There were also some chairs scattered about.

He started when one of the doctors addressed him, rightfully assuming him Dick's friend.

"He used up a lot of energy in his panic, but he should wake up again in a few hours. I suggest you stay here. Mary tells me you managed to snap the boy out of it simply by speaking to him." The doctor said. "It would be good for him to have a familiar face when he wakes up next. Hopefully, it'll prevent this from happening again."

"Thank you, Miss. I appreciate it." Wally replied.

The doctor smiled gently at him and walked away with her colleagues to check on other patients.

"Well, it's quite obvious he knows you. Seems like you might've been telling the truth." Samantha commented.

Wally yelped, not having noticed her come up. "Do I have two ninjas to worry about now?!"

Samantha tilted her head. "Ninjas?"

Wally took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Don't worry about it. It's not important."

Samantha shrugged and pulled two chairs over. "Sit. It's going to be a while."

Wally nodded. "Okay. Thank you." He sat down on the chair she offered him, which she'd pulled up close to Dick's head. He knew it would feel much longer to him than it would feel to her, speedster time and all.

He prepared himself to wait a while.

* * *

It had been a harrowing couple of days for Barry Allen. First, he'd had to tell his wife and in-laws what had happened. Then, he'd had to report to the police that his nephew was missing. Finally, he'd, alone, had to explain to both the league _and_ the team what Wally had done and where he and Robin were, as Batman seemed too upset to join him in explaining.

Needless to say, he was exhausted by the time he finally found a moment to himself.

He was planning to take a nice long nap, maybe take a night off from superhero stuff, when Batman called him.

"What's up, Batman?" He asked, taking a sip of hot chocolate. "Did you…"

"There's no evidence." Batman interrupted.

"No evidence?" Barry was confused for a moment.

"There's nothing to convict the people who sent Robin into the other dimension." Batman growled. "There's no evidence of kidnapping or theft or malpractice. They've been released from custody."

Barry almost spit out his hot chocolate. He quickly swallowed. "You mean they won't be thrown in jail?!"

"Correct."

"That's not good, Batman! If they managed to create that device once, they can do it again! What if something bad comes through the next time they open a portal?! We need to do _something_ to prevent them from trying again!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Batman snapped. "For goodness sake, Barry, they sent _my_ _son_ through as a test subject! I want nothing more than for them to go to jail! _But we can't send them there without evidence_!"

"Well, surely there's something we can use against them!"

Batman appeared to force a calm aura about himself. "If there was anything to be used against them, I would have found it by now. From what I can tell, the group switched locations more times than can be counted since they sent Robin through. It was overconfidence that let Wally find them. They were preparing to change location again when we found them. A day later and they would've been gone."

"So what do we do?!" Barry forced himself to calm down as well.

"We keep an eye on them as long as we can. Make sure they don't try anything else. Batman, out."

Barry couldn't say he was surprised by the abrupt end to the call - Batman was known to end calls quickly and without explanation - but he was slightly upset about it. He'd wanted to discuss what was going on with Batman longer, but it appeared the bat wouldn't have that.

He sighed and finished his now lukewarm hot chocolate before sighing and, knowing he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight anyways, prepared for a full night of crime fighting.

* * *

This time, Dick awoke silently, noting his surroundings through touch, not moving. The soft bed was under him again. The medical equipment was attached to his body once more. Two hands were holding his left hand, clutching it tightly.

He could hear murmurs. He noted that Wally's voice was among them.

"-ck? Dick? Are you awake?" Wally's voice became clearer as the fog of sleep fled Dick's mind.

The boy slowly opened his eyes. Wally was leaning over him, having fallen silent. The other murmurers continued to talk somewhere outside Dick's line of view.

"Wally?" Dick mumbled.

"It's me, Rob." Wally reassured him.

" **Where are we? How'd I get here? Am I dead? Are you dead? What is this place?..."** Dick rattled off questions at an alarming rate before having to stop to cough harshly.

"Dick, you know I don't know much Romani, which is what I assume the language you were speaking in was." Wally mentioned gently.

" **Romani? But… I'm trying to speak English. Why can't I speak English?!"** Dick struggled into a sitting position. " **What about French? Does this sound like French? Or Spanish? I'm trying to speak Spanish now!"**

"Whoa! Easy!" Wally exclaimed, throwing his arms out to halt Dick as he tried to get out of bed, once again panicking. "Calm down. I'm sure it's only temporary. You'll be back to your crazily multilingual self in no time!"

Dick allowed himself to be gently rested against the pillows by Wally. " **What's going on?"**

"I can't understand you, but I think you can understand me, so I'll tell you what I know." Wally said. "I was following a lead on your disappearance when I discovered your captors talking about what they did to you. They'd sent you into this dimension, which is why you haven't really seen many familiar faces. Well, friendly familiar faces. A lot of the individuals with powers here are evil." Wally shrugged. "Anyways, after I heard them talking, I stole their device and jumped into this dimension to find you. I met Samantha, who is busy at the moment, and she led me here after I managed to earn her trust somehow. 'Here' is the base of operations for the Gotham faction of the Resistance. Although I've heard a lot of the other factions were caught, so this faction might be one of very few left. They rescued you for the LDJ's fortress. They said you died once on the way here and another time shortly after they got you to the medical sector, where we are now. They managed to revive you both times, fortunately. Thank goodness for that."

" **I died?** " Dick tried to remember that happening, but couldn't.

" **Yes. You did."** A new yet familiar voice replied.

" **Who's that?** " Dick asked.

He saw Wally shaking his head and waving his arms in a 'Don't do it!' sort of way.

" **Your friend's trying to protect you but you have to know eventually. It's already been said that you're in another dimension. I'm your mother's counterpart.** "

" **Mamica?"**

" **Sort of."**

Dick tried to sit up again, more slowly this time, but a gentle hand pushed him back against the pillows once more.

" **You must rest to recover your strength."**

"You're benched, dude." Wally joked.

Dick managed to direct a mild batglare at his friend, but it only caused Wally to grin even wider.

"Besides, you probably won't feel very good if you stand or sit up right now anyways." Wally added, dropping the smile.

Dick gave a slight, hesitant nod of agreement to his friend's statement. Already, he felt a little dizzy from trying to sit up.

A woman who looked almost exactly like his mother came in and out of his view, checking his vitals and making sure he was comfortable. A couple of other people, probably nurses or doctors, helped her out.

A girl about his age came up to them. She dark brown hair in two braids going down to about her waist, bright brown eyes that seemed to have seen both happy times and dark times, a petite face with freckles that made her look a bit like a mouse, and a thin, 5 foot 1 inch tall body that had slight curves.

"I see your friend's awake. Care to introduce me?" She said to Wally.

"Dick, this is Samantha. Samantha, Dick. She's the one who helped me find you." Wally told Dick.

" **It's nice to meet you, Samantha. I'm sure Wallace here has told you only good things about me?** " Dick smirked.

"Dude!" Wally spluttered.

Samantha giggled. "Your full name is Wallace?"

"Wallace Rudolph West." Dick answered for his embarrassed friend. " **Got a ring to it, doesn't it?** "

"I don't remember my middle or last name, to be honest. It's just Samantha for me." Samantha admitted sheepishly. "I probably don't have a right to make fun of his name."

" **Of course you do! All individuals have the right to make fun of their friends! It's totally…** " Dick trailed off.

"Dick?" Wally asked, concerned at the sudden cut-off.

A black spike came from the ground, narrowly missing impaling Samantha.

"What the-?!" Samantha yelped.

The black spike was joined by a plethora of solid black objects that all seemed to come from what had first appeared to be shadows.

Samantha and Wally dodged the majority of them, getting scratches from a few, but the number of objects to dodge seemed never-ending.

Samantha noticed Dick seemed to be in a feverish trance. She slapped him across the face as soon as she could get close enough and he almost snapped out of it. A second time, and the objects faded into shadow.

They had attracted a crowd by this point. Samantha caught Dick as he began to fall over and laid him against the pillows. She felt his forehead.

"He has a fever." She noted.

"He might've been hallucinating." Mary Grayson added.

"Do hallucinations and fever have anything to do with what just happened?!" Wally demanded.

Dick shook his head, coming into semi-awareness in time for the next statement.

"It's not unheard of for survivors of Bullet's experiments to gain unusual abilities due to the chemicals that have been pumped through their bodies. Fever and hallucinations are common during recovery in such a 's most likely that this is what happened to Richard." Kelly informed Wally.

" **I… wha…** " Dick murmured, trying to process what he was hearing.

"That's right!" Samantha exclaimed, as if suddenly remembering. "And he'll likely be weak after using those powers, right?!"

"Sounds like you've been studying hard, Samantha." Kelly said. "That's correct. The best thing we can do is keep an eye on him while he's learning. Passing out and/or losing focus are not going to be one-time occurrences in this situation."

Dick finally managed to process what they were talking about. His eyes widened. " **I HAVE POWERS?!** "

" **Yes**." Mary cautiously replied.

Dick started hyperventilating. He wasn't ready for this. He didn't need powers nor did he want them.

"Dick! Dick, it's all right! Just breathe! Breathe… Breathe..." Wally attempted to calm him down.

It worked only to stop the hyperventilating. Dick was still highly panicky.

"Don't worry. It'll be okay." Samantha said softly. "Wally and I will help you learn to control them. And they'll eventually be an advantage. We just need to exercise patience. There are several kids here who have gone through a similar experience due to Bullet's experiments. Do you want me to get one or two of them?"

Dick had relaxed enough by this point to shake his head. " **I… I'll be fine. It's just a big shock and all. And I'm worried how Bruce will react to this when I get home…** "

Wally got the jist of what Dick was saying and could understand why Dick was worried about Bruce's reaction. There _was_ that whole 'No Metas in Gotham' rule. But Dick was basically Bruce's son. Wally was sure he would make an exception and said as much to Dick, who smiled lightly.

" **Thanks, Wally. I truly appreciate your input**."

"Hey. It's okay. Stay whelmed, right?" Wally replied.

Dick nudged him softly in response. He could feel his eyes getting heavy and attributed it to the fever.

Wally noticed. "Get some more sleep. Sleep will help you recover faster. And don't worry. I'll still be here when you wake up."

" **Great. You'll be watching me sleep. Hoor** _ **ay**_ **.** " Was the sarcastic reply Dick gave just before fading out of consciousness once more.

 **(A/n) I have decided that, following this chapter, we will not be seeing much of what's happening in the Young Justice dimension in Arc 1 as not much happens there until the end of Arc 1/beginning of Arc 2. There may be a few smidgens of Batman or Flash or possibly Artemis here and there, but again, not much is changing for them until Arc 2. Much more is happening in the dimension Wally and Dick are currently in, so that's what I'll focus more on in this Arc. (A/n)**


	4. Chapter 4

An arrow made of solid shadows tore through the painted, burlap target. Bulls-eye.

Dick fell to his knees, sweating and panting, as the arrow faded into the shadow of the target.

Wally hurried over to him at a normal person's run. It had become obvious in the last few days that he was trying to hide his speedster status from the rebels. Dick had made sure not to ask about it in case they were overheard. Not that they were in a private place to begin with. He'd hardly had much energy to leave the bed, but after several repeats of the shadow incident and several fainting spells, the rebels decided he wouldn't be able to fully recover until he could control his powers.

"I think that's enough for today." Wally called to John Grayson, who was helping to train Dick to use his powers. Apparently, they had people designated to do that in this place. "He just managed to walk by himself this morning."

John nodded, grabbed a water bottle, and brought it over to Dick. The boy took a huge gulp and then started spluttering and coughing. Wally pounded on his back in an effort to help.

"Small sips, kiddo. You're too out of breath to keep it down that way." John advised.

Dick obeyed as soon as he stopped choking on the first sip.

"We'll stop for lunch, at the very least." John told the two boys. "If you feel better after you eat, Dick, let us know. The sooner you gain control over those shadows, the better for all of us."

Dick nodded in response. He felt dizzy from over-exertion. Despite having spent a couple of weeks unconscious and a few days after that resting, he was still weak from Bullet's experiments. Having to put effort into controlling his new powers, while helpful in the long run, wasn't helping him regain energy.

With Wally's help, he shakily rose to his feet. Part of him wanted to go home. He wanted to be in the Batcave so badly. This wasn't the Batcave. Well, technically it was, but it wasn't the same Batcave he knew.

He was so lost in thought, he didn't realize what had happened until a dizzy wave came over him and a pair of hands caught him falling. He dazedly looked into Samantha's surprised eyes. Wait. That couldn't be right. Samantha was several platforms below them. Wally was right next to him, not Samantha.

Then, he faintly picked up Wally's panicked voice. It was several floors above him…

His confusion intensified, but he was too weak to figure out what was happening. A nap sounded nice. Maybe just for a few minutes…

* * *

Dick awoke back in his bed in the medical bay. He could hear Wally and Samantha speaking anxiously nearby.

"He just sank into the floor! What the heck was that?!"

"It sounds like he's able to travel through the shadows as well as make solid shapes out of them."

"'Travel through the shadows'?! You mean like melting into them and appearing in another place?! Not figuratively, but literally?!"

"Basically, yeah. The problem right now is: what are we going to do about it? I mean, there's a chance he could end up somewhere farther than just a few floors down. We gotta figure out a way for him to learn to control that too or there's a good chance our enemies might get a hold of him while he's weak. We might want to refocus our practice on the shadow travel rather than the shadow shapes."

"So impaling us with sharp shapes out of nowhere is not a big enough worry?"

"We'll work on both." Samantha sighed. "What we _really_ need to do is keep an eye on him. That way, we'll know right away if something happens to him. He might not want to hear it, but he's really vulnerable right now. He'll likely die if he falls back into our enemies' hands."

"No! He won't!" Wally burst. "He's strong! He won't die! I… He can't!"

"Wally, calm down." Samantha responded. "It's preventable. We just have to make sure the LDJ don't get their hands on him again."

Dick shifted slightly in unease. He felt two pairs of eyes snap over to him.

"He's awake." Samantha murmured.

"Which means he heard everything you just said! Really, Samantha?!" Wally replied, exasperated.

" **You don't have to shield me, Wally.** " Dick mumbled, wincing as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"You're back to speaking Romani." Wally's shoulders dropped in disappointment. "That's not good."

The three sat in silence for a good five minutes. None of them knew what to say next.

It was Mary Grayson who interrupted the reverie. "I brought some food for you, Dick. Hopefully, you'll feel a little better once you have something in your belly."

" **Thank you.** " Dick said, reaching over to grab some food off the tray.

Mary frowned. " **Back to Romani**?"

" **Yes**." Dick lowered his head in shame.

" **Hey. Don't worry. It's not your fault you're having trouble speaking other languages."**

" **But it is. I'm weak. I don't like being weak."**

" **I know, Sweetie. But there's not much you can do about it. Just try to get well again. Maybe it'll stop happening once you recover and gain better control of your new powers."**

" **I hope so."**

A loud explosion sounded high above them.

"What was that?!" Wally asked.

Almost on cue, intruder alert sirens started going off.

Kelly started shouting orders. She was the one in charge of the medical wing and she wasn't about to let the members who were ill or injured get captured.

Wally and Samantha were told to get Dick out. Dick noticed Wally hesitate and knew immediately that his friend wanted to stay and fight.

Evidently, Samantha was of the same mind as Wally. "I'm not leaving! I want to fight!"

"Samantha, you are fourteen. You wouldn't stand a chance against the intruders." Kelly argued.

"Hey! Age doesn't always make a difference in a fight! They just make the intruders underestimate you!" Wally jumped in.

"Not you too! I'd think that with your friend barely able to stand, you'd be thinking more about getting him to safety than staying here and fighting to boost your confidence level." Kelly retorted.

Wally spluttered, but conceded. This wasn't even his dimension, and they was no saying what would happen if a person died in a dimension that wasn't theirs. His first priority was Dick. He couldn't forget that.

"Samantha, you'd be most helpful in helping patients get to safety. You've been trained as a nurse, not as a fighter. If the adults don't get out safely, the patients will need you more than ever."

At this, Samantha too conceded.

"Now hurry! We don't have much time!"

Samantha and Wally each took one of Dick's arms and helped him to his feet. They had barely made it up one flight of stairs when stalactites fell down and hit the steps behind them, destroying the stairs and preventing whoever was left from getting up.

"No!" Samantha cried, seeing Kelly still down there. Mary, who was in front of them with another patient, yelled at the trio to hurry lest they get trapped as well.

The warning bore no fruit, as moments later the three found themselves trapped on unsteady ground.

"This way!" Wally shouted, pulling his two friends into a shadowy corner that was the only steady ground remaining on that level. "We need a way out! How do we get out?!"

In the darkness, Dick swore he saw Samantha's eyes light up with an idea as she turned to him.

"Dick, I know you have no practice with this, but I have an idea! Grab our wrists and then think of a safe place a manageable distance away. Picture it in your mind. Feel the _need_ to go there!"

Dick recognized the effort to get him to use his powers. He didn't know if he could do it. Trembling, he grabbed Samantha's and Wally's wrists tightly. He thought of where he really wanted to be at the moment. An image of sitting at the table, Alfred serving delicious cookies, came to mind. He missed Alfred and his cookies. It had been so long since he'd last tasted them.

"I wouldn't say this is a safe distance, but at least we have room to run." Samantha snapped him out of his reverie. Lightheaded, he realized they were in Wayne Manor, or rather the ruins of it. This was where the dining room would be in his dimension.

He'd done it. He'd used his new ability to his advantage.

Samantha and Wally helped him up, but he wobbled unsteadily on his feet. Before he knew it, he was in Wally's arms. He sighed. His feelings were mixed about the fact he was still small enough for Wally to carry. Not that being small would really make a difference; Wally was trained to be able to carry a full grown human.

"We need to get out of here before the entire cave collapses under our feet." Wally mentioned as the ground rumbled.

Samantha nodded in determination.

"I know a place."


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/n) So Arc 1 ended up being shorter than I expected. I'm not sure how to expand it, so I'm leaving it as is and placing all the arcs in the same place. Anyhow, hope you enjoy the last chapter of Arc 1 (A/n)**

"A warehouse. How original." Wally drawled sarcastically.

"Like you have a better idea?" Samantha snorted. "All the homeless in Gotham use these warehouses to hide from the LDJ at night so that they're not taken away. They also stick together. I have some contacts here who can help us."

" **Can we just go in already?"** Dick murmured, looking ready to take a long nap. He was riding piggyback with his arms around Wally's neck, his legs around Wally's waist, and his head resting on top of Wally's shoulder. Wally's bag, which he had snatched up on the way out of the medical area, hung from Dick's hands.

They entered the warehouse. The place looked like a small village, with a marketplace in the center and dozens of abodes all around.

Samantha effortlessly weaved her way through the maze of homes. Most of the people in the warehouse were getting ready to sleep as the sun had set a mere few minutes ago and darkness was beginning to spread across the sky.

A couple of random people greeted Samantha as she passed by. She just smiled and waved at them, intent on reaching the trio's destination.

Finally, they reached the marketplace. In a hut in the very center of the marketplace sat a scientist that Dick was sure he had seen at Wayne Enterprises in his dimension.

"Samantha! What brings you back to our humble abode? I thought you had joined the resistance!" The scientist greeted Samantha enthusiastically.

"Hi Ms. Blume." Samantha returned. "My friends and I need help. We need a place to stay the night. Also, some help getting out of Gotham would be great."

"Can't help you get out of Gotham. The Lords have eyes everywhere and lately have been against anyone leaving their home city or traveling at all. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need to though."

"Thank you."

Soon after Dick was lowered to the ground in Ms. Blume's home, he was out like a light.

Ms. Blume glanced at him. "Poor child. He's so pale. Is he sick?"

Wally and Samantha exchanged looks. Wally tried to convey the message, "Don't tell her," but Samantha didn't seem to receive it.

"He's recovering. The LDJ had him for a while, but he was rescued by the resistance. It will be a bit before he's back on his feet."

Wally glared at her, clearly not happy she had revealed Dick's condition. At the moment, he wasn't fully comfortable entrusting a, to him, complete stranger with his friend's problems.

"Oh dear." Ms. Blume hummed. "I hope he feels better soon."

They ate some before going to sleep for the night.

It felt like Wally had only slept fifteen minutes before a hand shook him awake.

"What?" He groaned. It was very dark out. Wally's light-up watch claimed it was 2 am.

"We have to get out! NOW!" Samantha whisper-yelled. It was clear she was desperate.

"What's going on?" Wally asked, looking around frantically until he spotted Dick still sleeping in a dark corner.

"Ms. Blume betrayed us. One of my other friends heard her speaking to the LDJ!"

"What?!"

"You need to take Dick and get out. I'll distract them."

"No way! I'm not leaving you here!"

"You have to, Wally!"

"No! I don't have to!"

"Yes, you do! This isn't your dimension! You said it yourself! So stop trying to solve problems that aren't yours!"

Wally's mouth opened and then closed. He didn't have a good comeback for that, so he shook Dick awake. The boy was alarmed when told to say goodbye to Samantha, but, upon hearing fighting noises, obeyed.

" **We're just leaving her?"** Dick noticed as Wally lifted him up and handed him the bag while Samantha ran off.

"She demanded we go without her."

" **And you're obeying her?** "

Wally sighed, Despite the language Dick was speaking in being Romani, he could easily guess what he was saying. "I don't have a choice, Dick. We can't meddle in the problems of another dimension."

Dick was silent for a moment, before struggling to put out some words in a language that was not Romani. " _Leaving... now?_ " The words came out in Spanish, but Wally understood the gist of it.

"Yeah." He murmured. "We're starting our journey home."

" _Weak_." This time it was in French.

"I know you're sick, but we have to get out of here. Hopefully you can be helped in the next dimension." By this point, Wally had managed to sneak them halfway to the Warehouse exit.

A man that looked like a goth version of his uncle Barry suddenly blocked their path. The lookalike looked like the devil when he smirked. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Some little sneaks."

Wally felt Dick trembling in his arms. He glared at the man who was surely Bullet. "Out of the way."

Bullet growled. "You dare tell _me_ what to do, child? I'm faster than you'll ever be!"

"Wally, run." Dick's whisper was barely audible, and Wally was sure he was the only one close enough to hear it.

Unfortunately, the murmur came too late. Bullet launched forwards, grabbed Dick and slammed him into the wall.

"Dick!" Wally yelped. He had no time to prepare for the onslaught of attacks from the other speedster. Fortunately, he had the element of surprise as Bullet didn't know that he too was a speedster, and one used to sparring with other speedsters at that.

With that slight advantage, he managed to land a good number of hits on Bullet, aiming mostly for his legs. The fight went on for a good two minutes normal time before Wally scored a hit that sent Bullet crashing to the ground.

Panting, Wally turned, just to find Dick in the arms of a Superman lookalike.

"Give up or I smash his head in."

Wally paled. By now, several other lords had surrounded them. Wally spotted Samantha struggling in the arms of a Wonder Woman lookalike.

Slowly, he raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender. A yellow lantern dragged and fastened them behind his back.

Suddenly, the Superman lookalike gave a shout of rage.

Dick was nowhere to be found.

Samantha used the distraction to escape the Wonder Woman lookalike. Wally began struggling as soon as he noticed they were both free. For some reason, the yellow lantern dropped him.

Wally caught sight of Dick in the shadows, his hand raised slightly. Samantha made it to the younger boy's side and motioned to Wally to do the same.

Wally used his superspeed to get over there fast. While Samantha gazed at him in surprise, Dick grabbed both their wrists and shadowed them away.

This time, they found themselves in an abandoned schoolyard. Wally realized Dick had brought them to where Gotham Academy stood in their dimension.

"We don't have long. You and Dick have to leave now," Samantha said.

"We don't want to abandon you," Wally responded.

"I know, but you need to. I can handle myself. It'll be easier to blend in on my own," Samantha told them.

" **Samantha, no,** " Dick murmured. He was feverish again. Wally noted they'd need to build up the stamina of his ability usage.

"I'm sorry, Dick." Samantha's eyes softened. "There's no other choice." Turning to Wally, she added, "Go. Go now."

Sadly, Wally pulled out the device he hadn't touched in over a month. After double-checking it couldn't go backwards, he activated a portal.

With one last glance at Samantha, he pulled Dick onto his back and jumped into the portal, making sure to close it once they were on the other side.

"I'll miss her." Wally murmured once the portal was closed. "She was a big help while we were there."

" **I don't feel so good.** " Dick mumbled before promptly passing out.

"Dick!" Wally gasped. "Dick, no!"

Scarcely did he notice the Gotham Academy students gathering around them.

 _ **-Here Ends Arc 1-**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**-Here Begins Arc 2-**_

Wally shook his friend, not noticing the Gotham Academy students who had spotted them. One of the students was that dimension's Dick Grayson, who was staring at his counterpart in shock.

The rest of the students were turning from Dick to his counterpart and back again over and over. After a few minutes of listening to the other students whisper in confusion, that dimension's Dick stormed over to the two interdimensional travelers.

"Who the hell are you?" His exclamation succeeded in getting Wally's attention briefly, but only briefly as the wrong dimension Dick was pallid and still.

"He needs help!" Wally yelped as his Dick seemed to pale even more. "Help!"

Sighing, that dimension's Dick motioned to a teacher on the sidelines. The teacher called to another teacher and they ran forward to take the Dick from Wally's dimension from him.

Wally hesitated in letting the boy go, but relented when he heard the sirens of an ambulance a few moments later.

A half hour later, Wally found himself sitting in front of Commissioner Gordon while Dick was treated in the Emergency Room.

"It would help if you could answer some of my questions." Gordon said.

Wally pursed his lips, but stayed silent.

"Your friend resembles Richard Grayson, and you called him by Richard's nickname. Are you purposely impersonating people well-known here? Are you a Martian?"

Wally snorted. "Not a Martian."

It was the first words the boy had spoken since Commissioner Gordon had arrived, so he judged he was making progress.

"Well, if you're not a Martian, how do you explain your friend's resemblance to Richard Grayson?"

"None of your business." Wally ground out.

Commissioner Gordon sighed. He noted the officer who he'd sent to take a blood sample and find the identity of the lookalike had returned. He stood to greet him.

"Detective Bullock, I trust you have the test results?"

Detective Bullock nodded. "You'll have to see these for yourself, Sir."

Commissioner Gordon raised an eyebrow and took the papers. One glance shocked him. "What? But that's impossible!"

"Read further, Sir."

Commissioner Gordon did as Detective Bullock suggested. "All these chemicals were found in his blood?"

"Yes, Sir. Someone had to have injected them into his bloodstream."

"Is there a way to get them out?" Both police turned when Wally suddenly spoke.

"Sorry, kid." Detective Bullock replied. "They're too ingrained in his bloodstream by now. There's no way to remove them without killing him."

"There has to be a way! The chemicals themselves are killing him!" Wally stood up. It was clear he was desperate. "At the rate he's been going since his rescue, he'll never recover!"

Realizing he could play off of Wally's anxiety to learn more, Commissioner Gordon spoke. "Who did this to him, son? Maybe we could force answers out of him. A way to save your friend."

"Not a chance! Beside the fact he's in another dimension, that guy doesn't give a crap what happens to his victims! We'd just put Dick more at risk if we tried to find him!" Wally seemed to realize he'd just blurted out information that he'd been trying to hide from the Commissioner. "I mean…"

"Why are you traveling through dimensions? What's your purpose?" Detective Bullock hissed. "Are you trying to gain something from the other dimensions?"

Wally bit his lip. "It's not like that. It's…" He trailed off.

"Detective, I'd appreciate it if you'd take this boy back to the station. I'll deal with the other kid." Commissioner Gordon decided.

"No! You can't separate us! Please! Don't hurt him!" Wally felt panicked at the assertion.

"Relax, son. I won't hurt him. I'm just going to make sure your friend is being cared for by doctors I trust. He'll be fine. Detective?"

"He needs me! You can't do this! I need to stay with him!" Wally kept protesting even as he was dragged away.

Nighttime found Wally in a cell in the police station. His belongings had been taken from him and he prayed the police wouldn't go through them.

"This is him." He heard sometime near midnight. He turned his head silently to see his best friend's mentor entering the cell with Commissioner Gordon. This dimension's Robin tagged along behind.

"Batman…" He murmured before adding louder and clearer. "Is Dick okay?!"

"The kid's recovering." Commissioner Gordon answered for the bat. "It might be a bit before he can leave the hospital though."

Wally's eyes were tinged with worry. "The hospital might not be the best place for him…"

Batman spoke up in the voice he saved for interrogations. "And why would that be?"

Wally cringed, knowing what was coming. Before he could answer, an officer ran over to them.

"Commissioner!" The officer panted as he caught his breath. "There's a panic at the hospital regarding that kid we admitted earlier. The doctors say an onslaught of dark shapes appeared out of nowhere in his room. Several people were injured. By the time it stopped, the kid was gone!"

"What?!" Commissioner Gordon shouted. "Scour the city! That kid's in no condition to handle the scum prowling the streets! We need to find him fast!" The officer ran off again. Commissioner Gordon turned to Wally. "Explain."

"You mentioned the chemicals earlier. Some guy experimented on him. He still hasn't learned to control the abilities that emerged from that."

"Where?" Batman growled.

"He would've ended up somewhere he deemed safe." Wally answered. "Check Wayne Manor. That would be on his list of nearby safe places."

Batman glanced at Robin, who nodded and activated his communicator.

"Where else?" Batman demanded.

"I don't know." Wally admitted. "My house in this dimension? The last place we ended up when he used his powers was Gotham Academy, so I'd check there too."

"Agent A managed to get Wayne on the line. The kid's at Wayne Manor." Robin announced.

Wally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Commissioner, it would be in the best interest of both these boys if the League took care of this." Batman declared.

"In the case of a child with superpowers, you're probably right. Very well. Take good care of them." Commissioner Gordon agreed. He motioned for Wally to follow Batman.

The speedster obeyed, following Batman and Robin first to get his belongings and then to the Batmobile.

Once inside the Batmobile., Robin put a blindfold on Wally.

"You don't have to do that. I've been to the Batcave dozens of times." Wally disclosed.

"Not in this dimension, you haven't. So do shut up." Robin grumbled.

"Wow. Someone's got attitude." Wally drawled.

"Can I hit him?" Robin asked Batman. Wally didn't hear Batman's answer, but the "Oh, come on!" from Robin was enough to reckon what it was.

Wally snickered.

They reached the Batcave a few minutes later and the blindfold was removed. Wally followed the bats to the med bay, where Alfred was waiting with Dr. Leslie Thompkins and an unconscious Dick.

"He was rambling away in Romani a few minutes ago. The name Wally came up several times." Dr. Thompkins told them. "I suppose you must be Wally."

Wally nodded. "Will he be okay?"

"He needs rest. Lots of it. Any exertion is detrimental to his health." Dr. Thompkins answered.

"He can't control his new powers. If he doesn't learn how to control them, they'll keep spiking up. That's exertion, isn't it?" Wally mentioned.

Dr. Thompkins narrowed her eyes. "I suppose that would be exertion. I would normally suggest at least two months' bedrest. But I doubt that would be enough time. It possibly wouldn't even be effective."

"Wally…" Dick murmured. Wally hurried over to him. "Wally…"

Dick's forehead was burning up, his face flushed with fever. He was trying to open his eyes.

"I'm here, Dick. I'm here. It's okay. We're safe. You can relax."

" **Scared.** " Wally noticed Robin startle at the word, clearly understanding.

"I know, but we're safe. No one's going to hurt you here. We're with good people, okay?"

" **Who?** "

"We're with your and Batman's and Agent A's counterparts. Dr. Thompkins is here too. They're not going to hurt you. They just want to help."

"Samantha?"

"She made us leave her behind in her own dimension, remember?"

" **How'd we get here?** "

Wally wrinkled his eyebrows, not understanding the question.

Robin piped in. "He asked how you got here."

Wally nodded in thanks. "You collapsed at Gotham Academy. Right after we jumped to this dimension. The police wanted to ask me some questions, so I wasn't with you when you woke up. I guess you panicked and thought up somewhere you deemed safe."

Dick seemed to relax a little. " **Tired.** "

"Did you say you're tired?" Wally guessed at what he said. Dick shifted his head up and down slightly. "Okay. Get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

He waited for Dick's breathing to even out before turning around. Alfred had left and Batman was talking to Dr. Thompkins a little away from them. Robin was watching Dick and Wally closely, as if he didn't trust them. Batman nodded to Dr. Thompkins and she left. The man then walked over behind Robin.

"You can go change if you'd like. I already know your alter egos." Wally said. Batman glared at him as if challenging the notion, so Wally added their names to the statement. "Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson."

Batman looked angry, but didn't he always? Robin gazed at his foster father for a signal, and went to change once he got one.

"What's your relation to him in your dimension?" Batman asked after a few minutes of staring Wally down and making him nervous.

"I'm his best friend and fellow hero. I'm Flash's partner, Kid Flash."

"So you both have the same name."

"Huh?"

"You're both named Wallace."

"Oh. No. I guess I became Flash in this dimension, but my uncle is Flash in mine."

Robin came back in civvies. Batman had him watch them while he went to make a few calls to trusted members of the Justice League.

Wally ignored his friend's counterpart for the most part, only exchanging a few words with him now and then.

Finally, Batman returned. He seemed to have chosen to stay in his suit for when the other leaguers came.

It wasn't long before they did. At first, they looked at Dick and Wally with shock. Flash was the first to react otherwise.

"Hey look! It's a mini-me!" He sped over to Wally and ruffled his hair.

Wally pushed him away.

"Time and place, Flash," Wonder Woman scolded.

"Batman, explain," Superman commanded.

Batman glared at him as if to say "don't give me orders", but conceded. "They're from another dimension. From the information gathered, Robin's counterpart was experimented on by someone in another dimension and still hasn't fully recovered. He has gained superpowers, but they take a lot out of him. Flash's counterpart rescued him and they're trying to get home." Batman turned to Wally. "Anything you'd like to add?"

"Dick needs to learn to control his powers." Wally put in. "He won't be able to recover otherwise. He's also been struggling with speaking languages beside his native tongue whenever he overexerts himself."

"I assume the 'control his powers' part is why we're here." Wonder Woman half inquired, half stated.

Batman gave them a curt nod. "No one besides you three is to know about this. Unless someone from their dimension comes looking for them…"

"Which is unlikely." Wally interrupted, earning a glare from Batman.

"Unless someone from their dimension comes looking for them, this situation is best kept under wraps. They will stay in the Batcave, and you will come here when you are able to help train Robin's counterpart."

"Roger that!" Flash exclaimed, saluting Batman playfully. The Bat was not amused.

Wally smiled. Hopefully, with the League's help, Dick could recover swiftly.

* * *

Flash was running to Gotham to report to Batman when he saw something suspicious. Coming to a halt, he turned and ran back to where he'd seen the swirling light.

He ducked into a hiding place when he got there. It was the people who'd sent Robin into the other dimension, the people Wally stole the device from.

However, it wasn't all of them.

Suddenly, a body came flying out of the… was it a portal? Flash recognized the body as one of the leaders.

Following the body came a group of Justice League look-alikes dressed very differently than how his teammates dressed.

The people he and Batman had been trying to lock up panicked. They were dead courtesy of his own look-alike before he could blink.

"This place needs conquering. It looks too… peaceful." The Wonder Woman look-alike said in disgust.

"Someone's watching us." The Superman look-alike growled. He pointed to where Flash was hiding. "Over there."

Flash began to run.

He didn't get away.


	7. Chapter 7

The first few days they were with the League, Dick still slept a lot and was weak.

Around the one week marker, he was able to start practicing his powers some more under the Leaguers' supervision.

The weakness didn't go away immediately. Wally knew it would take a while before Dick was anywhere near his former condition.

But step by step, he was getting better.

Wally hoped that they would be able to start the journey home again before long.

For now, though, it was one foot in front of the other.

* * *

Flash growled at the man who brought him food. A chemical the lookalikes were constantly running through his body slowed down his speed and kept him from getting away.

The man who brought him food moved stiffly. Flash had figured out by now that the man wasn't in control of his own body.

How that was possible was beyond him.

It had been two weeks since the lookalikes had captured him and imprisoned him in their own dimension. He was guarded by people with the same stiffness as the man who brought him food.

The man who brought him food left a few minutes later, leaving the food behind.

Flash sighed. He needed a way out of here. He had to warn his teammates about the lookalikes.

"Hi." Flash jumped at the quiet greeting. Nobody but the lookalikes spoke around here. They were all controlled like the man who brought him food.

Turning, he saw a young girl standing in front of the cell he was kept in. She wore a ragged dress and had dark brown hair in two long braids. Her face was mouse-like and she was watching him with bright brown eyes. Around her waist was a yellow belt that looked strangely like Robin's.

"Who are you?" Flash demanded, before realizing he was being a little harsh. "I mean…"

"I understand you're confused about me, Mister Flash, but I assure you I mean you no harm. I'm not with the LDJ."

Flash blinked in confusion. "LDJ?"

"Lords of Divine Justice." The girl clarified, turning her eyes to the lock. "The leader, Bullet, looks a lot like you, but I know you're not bad."

"How do you…"

"It's a long story. One that can be told after we get out of here."

"You're here to rescue me." Flash realized as the girl started messing with the lock.

"I'll explain myself later." The girl responded as the lock broke. She stepped into the cell and removed the IV running the slowing concoction into Flash's body before making quick work of the chains. "It might take a few minutes for your speed to come back but we have to run now." As if on cue, the alarm started blaring. There was the faint sound of explosions in the distance. "That's our cue! Come on!"

She grabbed his arm and pulled him along, both running. Flash couldn't use his superspeed yet, but vowed pick the girl up and do so as soon as he could.

Several controlled goons blocked their path.

"I trust you know how to fight without your powers?"

They somehow managed to fight off the controlled goons, but more kept coming.

Flash felt his speed come back. He swiftly scooped up the girl and shouted. "Time to run!"

He sped the two of them out into the dark landscape outside.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, he skidded to a halt. The girl squirmed out of his arms and went to throw up behind a bush.

She came back still a little green, but looking calmer. "I trust you have questions?"

"Who are you? Who are the Lords of Divine Justice?" Flash inquired.

"My name is Samantha. I was part of the Gotham Resistance before it got attacked. The LDJ are the rulers of this dimension. As I'm sure you've realized by now, they're basically an evil Justice League."

"How do you know about the Justice League? You obviously live in this dimension. So how do you know about us? How do you know about me?"

"I think we both already know the answer to that question, Mister Flash, sir."

Flash stared at her in complete and utter confusion. Then, it dawned on him. "Wally."

Samantha smiled. "Yes. Wally. We met when I was in the process of being captured by some goons of the LDJ. He rescued me. He was looking for the Resistance because he somehow knew Dick was with them. I spent a week or so deciding whether I could trust him before finally leading him there. The Gotham Resistance had rescued Dick a few days before I took him there. So we managed to reunite them."

"Where are they now?" Flash prayed they were still around. He needed to make sure his nephew was okay.

Unfortunately, Samantha dashed his hopes. "They left this dimension a couple of weeks ago. Shortly before the portal you came through was opened."

Shoving down his disappointment, Flash turned to the next order of business. "I need to get back to my dimension. I need to warn the Justice League about… the LDJ, was it?"

"The portal was opened directly into their fortress. It'll be hard to get in there." Samantha hesitated before smirking. "But Bullet is in your dimension. And so is Ultra Lord, the only other person whose speed is anywhere close to yours. I think we can do it."

"We?"

"I'm coming with you! The LDJ have taken control of those of my friends who survived the attack! I think the people in your dimension might be able to find a cure."

"What attack?"

"Long story. Not important. I'm coming with you. That's final."

"Fine. Let's just hope we get there in time."

* * *

"Superman, what do you have to say on the disappearance of the Flash?"

The press conference was going well until that question was asked.

"We know as much about it as you do." Superman replied hesitantly. "We don't know what happened or how…"

CRASH!

The loud noise caught everyone's attention. As such, they were caught unprepared when the attack began.

Screaming filled the area as the Justice League fought some individuals who looked like them.

… and lost.

The lookalikes stood tall and smirking over the fallen Justice League, who were fighting off the influence of something they'd been injected with.

Inside the Hall of Justice, the team was watching the screen in horror.

"What do we do?" Artemis demanded. "We can't just stand here doing nothing!"

"You are going to a safe house." Batman boomed. He had somehow managed to get away using his disappearing act and startled the team when he appeared. He gave Aqualad a slip of paper. "These coordinates will take you to the nearest Zeta Tube to it. From there, it's a five mile hike. The map should help you find it." He then handed Artemis a key. "This will let you in. With the League incapacitated, it will be up to you to find a way to take these lookalikes down. I have two protegees in training who will be joining you. You're the protectors now."

Before they could reply, he slipped back to where the Press Conference was, determined to do his part in trying to protect the world.

He, too, was taken down.

* * *

"I forgot to ask. Where'd you get that belt?" Flash asked Samantha as they crouched outside the LDJ's fortress.

"I stole it. From the fortress armory. Most of the supplies had been removed and a device on the belt was disabled, but I figured it would be better to grab it. It doesn't belong to them anyway. I'm pretty sure it's Dick's."

"I thought it looked familiar. What were you doing in the fortress in the first place. And what were those explosions we heard?"

"I was spying. And I set a timer on some explosives in that armory. That was the explosions you heard. Figured it would be a good diversion."

"Smart."

They lapsed into silence again as they waited for the gap in the guard that would let them get in unseen.

"Now!" Samantha hissed. Flash scooped her up and ran into the fortress at superspeed. He stopped in a dark nook.

"We're in. Where's the portal?"

"Third left on this hallway. And then a right."

Less than a second later they were in the throne room, the portal swirling in front of them and several guards knocked to the ground.

Samantha looked green again, but was a little steadier on her feet after several rides at superspeed.

"Come on. We need to get to the Justice League before they do." Flash exclaimed.

Samantha nodded and grabbed his extended hand as they stepped through the portal.

* * *

"Anyone else's feet hurt?" Zatanna complained. "Why did the Zeta Tube have to be five miles from the safe house?"

"Better question. Why couldn't we use the bioship? Or Sphere?" Artemis groaned.

"Besides the obvious 'it's too risky'. The map Batman gave Aqualad is the only indication of where we're going," Raquel pointed out. "I doubt any of us actually know what we're looking for."

"According to the map, we're almost there," Kaldur assured them, "You can rest your feet soon."

They hiked another ten minutes in silence, before Kaldur, who was leading them, stopped abruptly.

Several of his teammates bumped into each other due to the sudden stop.

"Uh… why are we stopping?" Connor inquired in exhaustion.

Kaldur looked at the leaf-covered ground. "The map says to stop here." He got down on his knees and brushed the leaves apart. A bat emblem, with a keyhole in the middle, adorned the ground.

"Artemis, the key," Kaldur requested.

Artemis stepped forward and pushed the key into the keyhole, twisting it first right, then left. Shortly after she twisted it left, a creaking sound could be heard.

The team was all gathered in a circle around the emblem now. None of them were prepared for the trap door to open underneath their feet. Screams were all that was left where they'd just been standing when the trap door closed.

* * *

Barbara and Jason looked up when they heard the screams.

"Looks like our guests are here." Alfred nonchalantly handed Barbara a plate of his famous cookies. "Why don't you offer them a snack after their long walk?"

There was a thud as six teens fell in a heap onto a cushion that had been conveniently placed under a trap door entrance.

"Welcome to Batcave 2.0! Want some cookies?" Jason snickered as the teens groaned and tried to untangle themselves.

Barbara seemed less amused and more worried. "Are you it? Where's Batman? Didn't any of the Justice Leaguers escape?"

"Who are you?" Connor grumbled as the team finally managed to separate themselves.

"I'm Batgirl and this is the second Robin." Barbara introduced herself and Jason. Both were wearing dark sunglasses in preparation for the team's arrival.

"So you must be Batman's two protegees in training he mentioned." Kaldur said. "I am Aqualad. This is Superboy, Miss Martian, Rocket, Zatanna, and Artemis."

Jason snickered again. Barbara elbowed him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I forgot to introduce Agent A. He made you all some cookies. Would you like some?" Barbara held out the plate of cookies.

"Welcome to the dark side. We have cookies. Ow!"

"Cut it out, Robin Two."

The six members of the team each took a cookie.

"These are delicious!" Miss Martian exclaimed after taking a bite. "Please teach me, Agent A!"

Alfred nodded. "We have plenty of time. For now, I will show you to your rooms."

Barbara and Jason watched them go. "So that's _his_ team, isn't it?"

Barbara sighed. "Yes. It's the first Robin's team. I know you're still upset about not having met him, but…"

"Shut it! Batman said I'd meet him eventually! Just because _you_ don't believe he's ever coming back doesn't mean he won't!" Jason snapped.

"Jay…"

"It's Robin for now. Until he comes back, that is."

"Robin…"

"Just shut up. I don't want to hear your fucking pessimism right now."

"I'm not pessimistic!"

"Then don't give up on him! He's your best friend! You need to believe in him!"

Barbara sighed again. "Fine. If you need me, I'll be in the monitor room."

"Leave the cookies!"

"In your dreams, Robin Two."


	8. Chapter 8

The Watchtower was deserted. So was Mount Justice. No one was answering their com units either.

Worried, he traveled back to where he'd left Samantha. He'd left her at his house, figuring the LDJ wouldn't know where that was. He said that if Iris came home, to just tell her she was with Flash.

He shouldn't have been surprised to see the two females locked in a glaring contest when he got back.

Tiredly, he murmured. "Am I interrupting something?"

Both looked over at him. Iris was the first to speak.

"Barry! You look like you're about to drop dead! Your protein bars are in the usual place in the kitchen. Go grab one and then _get back here and explain to me what the heck is going on here!_ "

Samantha giggled, clearly amused by the reproof.

"You're not off the hook either, Missy! Barry, now!"

Barry ran into the kitchen and raced back eating one protein bar and holding two others.

"Explanation! Where the hell have you been?! And who's she?!" Iris demanded the moment he got back.

Barry swallowed the rest of the protein bar he was eating before speaking. "I need to contact the Justice League. There are some lookalikes from another dimension. I think they're going to…"

"Too late." Iris interrupted. "I'm pretty sure those same lookalikes are the ones who took down the Justice League at the press conference yesterday."

The color fled Barry's face. "What?!"

"You're too late! Where have you been?!"

"He was captured by the LDJ, ma'am." Samantha cut in, drawing attention to herself.

"What?" Iris was a little quieter now, trying to take it all in.

"Samantha rescued me," Barry told her, "They had me restrained for two weeks before she came along."

Iris collapsed into an armchair, her legs no longer able to hold her.

"First Wally disappears and now this…" She whispered.

"Are there any Justice Leaguers left? I've got to fix this."

"No. They were all defeated. The lookalikes… did something to them. They don't seem to be able to fight back anymore."

"And the team?" Barry stressed.

"Nobody knows their location. I've called Paula and she has no clue where Artemis is. And the Atlantians don't know where the team is either."

"Red Arrow?"

"He wasn't at the press conference and there haven't been any sightings of him since. There's good reason to believe he's off the grid as well.

"Alfred?"

"Disappeared with Jason. Might've taken Batgirl with him too."

"Lois? Ma and Pa Kent?"

"They're praying nobody connects them to Superman."

"What about Jay and Joan?"

"Planning on disappearing tonight. I was planning on going with them. Rudolph and Mary are planning to come along too."

"Keep that plan. It would give me peace of mind if you were off the grid too."

Joan ran into the room, Rudolph and Mary behind her. The three who'd already been there looked at the new arrivals.

"Wait? Barry? I thought you.." Rudolph began.

"What's going on?" Iris interrupted. "I thought we were staying apart until tonight."

"Jay's been captured!" Joan bemoaned. "They injected him with the same thing they did the Justice League!"

"It won't be long before they connect us to him. We've got to go now." Mary exclaimed.

Iris gave Barry one last look before running to grab some stuff from upstairs.

"Samantha, you should go with them." Barry told the girl who'd helped him.

"Not a chance. I'm here to help. Besides, you need my expertise to take down the LDJ."

"Who's she?" Rudolph asked.

"Long story," Barry replied, keeping his eyes on Samantha, "and one that's not necessary at the moment."

Iris came back downstairs with a small duffle. Barry hugged her.

"Be safe, Iris."

"Same to you, Barry. Be careful."

Without another word, the group left Barry and Samantha alone in the house.

"This isn't a safe place anymore." Barry murmured. "I'm guessing the team will be in one of Batman's safe houses. We'll try to find them. Surely, they're already doing something in an effort to fix this."

* * *

"Shouldn't we be doing something in an effort to fix this?" Artemis mentioned as the team and Batgirl lounged around the living room area of the safe house.

"We need to wait for the panic to subside a little before we leave the house." Batgirl pointed out. "We'd stick out in a crowd at this point. Anyone who's calm right now is associated with having a purpose contrary to what these 'Lords of Divine Justice' want. I saw it on the news. Innocent people are being attacked for not panicking."

"All the more reason we should be doing something." Connor retorted.

"Batgirl is right." Kaldur stated with finality. "We cannot lose anyone else, or draw attention to ourselves, this early in the fight."

"Isn't there something we can do from here? Without giving away our position?" Zatanna prodded.

"I have an idea." Everyone jumped. They hadn't heard Robin Two enter the room.

Batgirl narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "If it involves calling attention to the fact more heroes are out here or leaving the house, the answer's no."

"Party Pooper." Robin Two groaned.

"I think I'd like to hear Robin's idea anyways." Artemis decided.

"It's Robin Two. Follow me." The team exchanged glances and shrugged before following Robin Two to the monitor room.

"The Lords of Divine Justice are creating a fortress near Gotham City. They are currently making a security system and I thought we'd make it difficult for them." Robin Two explained. "Unfortunately, I'm not as good a hacker as the first Robin. I was thinking Batgirl could help me out and we could all suggest ways to mess with them."

"Can you do it without them being able to trace us?" Kaldur asked Batgirl.

"Yeah. Still not sure how good an idea this is though," Batgirl replied. "I'm not at the first Robin's level."

"Hey. You put a bunch of bored superheroes together, this is what you get," Raquel chipped in.

"Let's do it." Artemis agreed.

Batgirl sighed as the rest of the team voiced their opinions of agreement. She was outnumbered. This better not backfire.

* * *

"Hi." A whisper sounded in Wally's ear.

The speedster yelped and jumped ten feet in the air. He couldn't believe he'd made the mistake of putting his back to the shadows again. He could hear Dick cackling behind him. He spun around.

"Dude, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that?!"

A couple of days ago, Dick had decided the best way to practice his shadow travel powers was to sneak up on Wally whenever his back was turned. The speedster had not been pleased.

"We both know you're not really angry," Dick snickered.

"The fact you are doing better is _not_ an excuse to shadow behind me anytime you want to! Yes, I'm glad you are doing better. Still, stop it!" At this point, Wally was starting to feel more exasperated than relieved.

Dick pushed himself up onto a table, his legs swinging beneath him.

"So… when are we going home?"

"Batman said something about reversing the direction of the dimensional travel device. So we wouldn't have to travel through the entire multiverse trying to find our way home. He said to give him five days two days ago."

"So home in three days?"

"So he said."

"Wait…" Dick paused, a little panic seeping into his eyes. "Does this mean we'll have to go through the LDJ's dimension again?!"

"Probably. Yeah." Wally said absentmindedly. He almost immediately realized his mistake. "Hey now. That doesn't mean we'll run into…"

"We're... we're going through there… B-Bullet…" Dick stuttered.

"No. Not Bullet. Bullet's not gonna be anywhere near you, you hear me?" The assurance proved too little too late. Dick started hyperventilating. "Dick, it's okay. He's not here. You need to calm down."

Alfred passed by and, realizing what was going on, rushed over to help.

"Master Dick, you need to breathe. I Hold 1 2 Out 1 2 3… That's it. In… Hold… Out…"

Slowly, the panic attack subsided. Dick was curled in a ball, but slowly uncurled when Wally touched his shoulder lightly.

"It's going to be alright, Dick. I'll protect you. Okay?"

Dick nodded slowly, but didn't look at Wally.

Wally furrowed his brow. "Hey. What's wrong? You look depressed or something."

"I'm pathetic." Dick whispered. "Would Bruce really want a pathetic child back?"

Wally barely held back a gasp. Alfred took over. "I am absolutely positive Master Bruce would want you back no matter what condition you're in, Master Dick. Whether he says it or not, he loves you."

"Bruce never wanted to halt his search for you," Wally cut in. "When the League forced him to, his only comfort was in the fact that I had taken over for him. He loves you, Dick. He wants you back really badly."

"But I'm weak. I don't deserve him."

"You're not weak. What you survived is an indicator of just how strong you really are. You pulled through when a lot of others didn't."

Dick flinched at the reminder.

"It's okay, Dick. Three more days, and we'll be home. Just hang in there for three more days, and then you'll be able to see Bruce again. Your Bruce. He's worried about you. I promise."

* * *

"That totally backfired." Batgirl growled. "They might not have found us, but now we're wanted criminals! We'll never be able to leave the place at this rate. Oh! And don't you dare blame this on me! You went into this knowing I wasn't at the first Robin's level of hacking expertise!"

"Batgirl's right. It was a bad idea. I never should've suggested it." Robin Two mumbled in shame. "I'm sorry."

"Regardless, we have learned our lesson. And perhaps there is a bright side to all this. The fact that there are individuals out there brave enough to hack the Lords of Divine Justice might give people hope." Everyone turned to look at Kaldur. "That is something they really need right now."

"True. But how are we supposed to do anything, like get food or other supplies, if the entire world knows what we look like and are likely willing to turn us in?" Batgirl argued.

"Whole world doesn't know Agent A." Artemis pointed out. "He can do that stuff."

"Yeah. But do we really want him going out of the safe house alone?"

"Everyone be quiet." Connor spoke out of nowhere. "I heard something."

The entire group shut their mouths and stiffened as quiet voices reached their ears.

"Who's to say someone else didn't recognize this place in that video? What if the LDJ already captured them and are waiting here to catch anyone who might be an ally searching for them?"

"Samantha."

"Or what if they think we're with the LDJ? We're not, but they don't know that!"

"Samantha."

"It might not be safe here. Are you sure looking for this place is a good idea?! What if… What if…"

"SAMANTHA!"

"What?"

"Calm down. There's always a risk, but this is our best chance at the moment. Not to mention, if there were someone hiding here to ambush us, they would have done it already. You gave us away five minutes ago when you started talking."

" _Link Established._ " The team and Batgirl and Robin Two heard M'gann's voice in their heads. " _What's the plan?"_

" _They don't seem to mean any harm. Maybe they're friendly?_ " Zatanna suggested.

" _A risk we should not take."_ Kaldur replied. " _There is no guarantee their words are not meant to throw us off. Everyone hide. We will ambush them when they enter this room."_

The air was tense as the group hid and waited.

"What about this room? It looks like…" Raquel and Artemis launched themselves at the girl the second she entered the room. "Ahhh!"

It was a mere split second before the girl was yanked out of Raquel and Artemis's reach by a red blur.

The rest of the team jumped out and formed a circle, pulling out weapons and watching each other's backs, or, in M'gann and Raquel's case, heads.

"Whoa there! Easy! We come in peace!" The voice was familiar. Flash stepped into the room. Behind him was the girl who Raquel and Artemis had jumped. Both of their expressions were apprehensive.

The team watched them carefully, keeping an eye out for any others who might come to join them.

"Mr. Flash is telling the truth. We mean no harm. We want to help in any way we can." The girl mentioned tentatively.

"Who's she?" Robin Two mumbled. It took him moment to realize he'd said it out loud rather than in the mind link.

"I'm… well, I was… part of the resistance in the dimension the LDJ came from."

"You let them in!" Batgirl accused.

"No. She didn't." Flash was quick to correct her. "It was someone from our dimension who did that."

"What do you mean?" Zatanna dared to venture.

"This is related to what happened to Robin and Kid Flash, isn't it?" Robin Two inquired. Everyone turned to look at them. "What? You're not in the loop about that?"

"The individuals who created the device that they tested on Robin and that Kid Flash stole recreated it. They are the ones who let the LDJ into this dimension."

"You're saying some criminals made an interdimensional device, tested it on Robin. Then Kid Flash stole it to find him, and then they recreated it and let the Lords of Divided Justice into this dimension?" Rocket asked in semi-confusion. "Why would they let in those creeps?"

"Lords of Divine Justice." The girl corrected. "And I think it was an accident. The LDJ killed them."

"Wait, so the people who created the device that let the Lords in are now dead?" Artemis wondered. "What happened to their device then?"

"The LDJ probably have it."

"Have we decided we can trust them or something? I don't recall asking them anything to make sure it's really Flash." Connor reminded the team.

"What's Kid Flash's real name?" M'gann asked.

"Wally West." Flash answered.

"That's not good enough. Who's his girlfriend?" Artemis asked.

"Someone named Artemis." The girl replied before Flash could answer. They all turned to stare at her. "What? You think he never mentioned he had a girlfriend?"

"You've met Wally?" Artemis asked, not knowing why it irked her so much that this girl had seen Wally.

"Yeah. I helped him find Dick!" The girl proclaimed proudly.

"Excuse me?" Artemis quirked her eyebrow, thinking dirtily.

"It's a name, Artemis. The first Robin's name, to be exact." Batgirl clarified, her eyes filling with hope. "Wally found him? He found Dick?"

"Yes. He did. But they haven't made it back to this dimension yet from what we can tell." Flash replied. "They will, though. They will."

"He's alive then? And he's coming home?" Robin Two exclaimed excitedly.

"He was alive when I saw him last." The girl replied.

"Wait. You mean he might not be anymore?" Batgirl caught on.

The girl grimaced. "He was in pretty bad condition. If the next dimension over didn't have advanced enough medical supplies…"

"Why would he take that risk?! Couldn't he have just gotten treated in your dimension?" Connor barked.

"He had to run from the Lords." Aqualad realized.

"All three of us did. We almost didn't escape. It took a lot for me to convince them to leave me in my own dimension."

"Do you really think Robin's dead?" Zatanna prayed for a negative answer.

"All I'm saying is that I can't guarantee he's alive." The girl replied. "I don't know that he's dead. I just don't want you to get your hopes up. He's strong, and I doubt Wally would let him die if he could help it, but I can't guarantee anything."

"We should stop talking about this." Flash cut in. "Samantha, that's enough negativity for now."

Samantha nodded once and let it go.

"How much do you know about the other dimension?" Aqualad asked Samantha.

"I was born there, grew up there, lost my parents and sister to the LDJ there." The last part was spoken venomously.

"Then perhaps you could teach us about our opponents?" Aqualad suggested.

"Aqualad, we don't know anything to prove she's not doing this for her own gain." Artemis argued.

"But we know Flash, and Flash seems to trust her. So why shouldn't we?" Batgirl mentioned at the same time Samantha spoke.

"Oh, I'm totally doing this for my own gain."

"Wait. What?" The Team and Flash looked at her in confusion.

"The resistance is my family. Many of them died when the base was attacked, but those remaining are subjected to the same bodily control that your Justice League is. I'm doing this because I want my family back, which is, in a way, for my own gain."

"Well at least her own gain is a good reason." Batgirl pointed out.

"Fine. Let them stay. But don't blame me if they turn out to have ulterior motives." Artemis grunted before turning her back and walking away.

"Welcome to the Batbunker. Why don't we give you guys a tour?" Batgirl chirped.

Flash and Samantha exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Might as well."

* * *

"So can it go in both directions now, or just the one we need it to go at this very moment?" Wally asked as soon as the five days were up.

"Just the one." Batman responded. "Also, it takes four hours to charge, so plan your time accordingly." He turned to Dick. "Make it back to your own Bruce in one piece, okay chum?."

Dick allowed a shaky smile to slip through in response. He was nervous, Wally knew, scared because they were going through Bullet's dimension first.

"Ready?" The redhead asked his friend as Batman, now dressed as Bruce, handed him the device.

"A-as I'll ever be..." Even Dick's voice was shaking.

They were on the lawn behind Wayne Manor, far from prying eyes, as Wally opened the portal.

"Thank you for everything." He told their hosts, Dick echoing his sentiment in a much quieter voice.

Then, grabbing Dick's hand, Wally led the way into the portal, closing it the moment they were both on the other side.

The ground was uneven beneath their feet. Corpses littered the hill of debris that indicated the collapsed Resistance Cavern.

Both boys felt sick to their stomachs at the sight.

"We have four hours. No one's going to look for us here." Wally said. "It might be as safe a place as any to sit and wait."

Dick nodded, and both sat down on the side of the debris that hid them from the road.

"Do you think…"

"No one is going to find us here, Dick. You'll be fine."

They lapsed into silence.

"Do you think…"

"Relax, Dick. Even if they did come to investigate the portal, I'm here to protect you, okay?"

The next lapse of silence lasted almost the entire four hours. Dick fell asleep less than half an hour in, while Wally kept checking his watch. He woke the younger when the time had elapsed.

"Come on. We're almost home." He encouraged, opening the portal once again.

This time, after the portal closed, they headed away from the spot where they'd arrived, into the Manor.

"It's locked." Dick murmured. "And the key's not where I remember it being."

"We'll ring the doorbell, then." Wally said, walking towards the front of the house.

"Wally, something's wrong. Are you sure this is our dimension?" Dick whispered, his eyes surveying their surroundings anxiously as he did his best to keep up with the elder boy.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"How long have you been gone? Could something have changed?"

Wally paused. "Dick, we won't know until we can find somebody to speak with, and your family is our closest option."

"Your friend is right to be afraid." Both boys froze at the voice. "Why don't we show you why?"

Faster than Dick could blink, Bullet injected Wally with something. The young speedster fell to the ground writhing and struggling against whatever was invading his body.

Dick backed up against the outer wall of the Manor as Ultra Lord and Demon approached him.

"Now, now. No need to worry. Your fate will be much different from your friend's." Demon cooed, reaching out to cup his cheek.

Her figure cast a shadow over him. Dick had an idea. He glanced briefly at Wally. Something deep down told him he couldn't save him right now, that he couldn't save him at all if he didn't get away.

Then, he imagined Bruce's office in Wayne Industries. The cozy couch and Bruce working at the desk.

He stumbled. He was there, but Bruce wasn't.

 _ **-Here Ends Arc 2-**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**-Here Begins Arc 3-**_

Dick took a step forward in Bruce's office and an alarm started blaring, causing him to startle and fall to the ground.

He began to pick himself up, but didn't get far before the door to the office burst open and the tip of a gun pushed him back down, accompanied by a yell of "Don't move!"

"Wait!" Dick recognized the voice of Lucius Fox, Bruce's second-in-command at his company.

"Get up." The guard moved his gun just enough to let Dick get to his feet. Once standing, the boy saw he was surrounded by five armed guards and Lucius. He gulped and put his hands up in surrender.

"Wait… that face…" One of the guards murmured.

Some whispering took place. Dick turned his eyes to Lucius.

"I want a blood test done. To make sure it's really him." Lucius commanded.

"Come." One of the guards, the leader judging by his badge, grunted to Dick. He grabbed the boy's arm. "Lower your guns. Let's get him to the GCPD."

The trip to the Gotham City Police Department was brief. The wait for the results of the blood test was not.

Dick waiting patiently in the interrogation room after they took a blood sample from him. It took about thirty minutes after the results should've been ready for someone to come back.

Commissioner Gordon shooed away the detectives who wanted to come with him when he entered. Dick slowly lifted his eyes from his lap to meet the Commissioner's.

"You're a 98% match." Gordon told him. "It's the factor of the other two percent that generated questions."

He slid a sheet of paper forward on the table in front of Dick. On it was a list of chemicals found in his DNA.

"Many of these chemicals could be deadly if they managed to enter a human body. Yet they were found in your DNA. I hate to say it, but how are you still alive?"

Dick gulped and avoided the Commissioner's gaze. "I got lucky."

"We need you to tell us what you know. Where have you been all this time? How did these chemicals get into your DNA? What happened to you in general?"

Dick licked his dry lips. "I… It's hard to talk about."

"You don't have to tell me anything. You have your rights. But it would be helpful if you have any information about these people." Commissioner Gordon slid forward a photo of the LDJ. Dick stared at it. "They call themselves the Lords of Divine Justice. A little over a week ago, they managed to take down the Justice League by injecting them with something that made them subject to the Lords of Divine Justice's every will. Since then, they've been doing the same thing to any metahumans they find."

"What makes you think I know anything about them?" Dick whispered, keeping his eyes on the photo.

"Call it a hunch." Commissioner Gordon said. "You have your rights. You don't have to…"

"That one's Bullet." Dick interrupted, pointing to a goth blond in the photo. "He's the leader and he… he experiments on children." Commissioner Gordon's mouth opened, but Dick moved on before he got the chance to say anything. "That one's Ultra Lord. He's like an evil Superman. He and Demon are Bullet's right-hands. Demon has the powers of Black Canary, but she's not on the good side. Powerlady is an evil Wonder Woman. The counterparts of the Green Lanterns are the Yellow Lanterns. There's also Waterwarp. He's the bad Aquaman. He's not in this picture. They… they shouldn't be here. How did they get here? They're supposed to be in the next dimension over!" As soon as he finished speaking, Dick curled into a ball as much as he could with his wrists chained to the table, repeating softly to himself, "They shouldn't be here… They shouldn't be here…"

Try as he might, Commissioner Gordon couldn't get anything else out of Dick. Not how he knew about them, not whether or not he'd been experimented on by Bullet, not what their purposes were, nothing. Not that he couldn't infer some of the answers on his own based on what Dick had managed to get out.

After some back and forth between the officers and Commissioner, and several attempts to contact Bruce Wayne, it was decided that Dick would go home with Commissioner Gordon. After all, Dick knew him and would thus be comfortable in his home.

Unfortunately, the moment they got to Commissioner Gordon's house, Dick asked a question Commissioner Gordon had dared to hope he wouldn't think of.

"Commissioner Gordon? Where's Babs?"

Detective Bullock, who had accompanied them, said, "I'm out!" and swiftly left to go back to the station.

"Commissioner?"

"We don't know, Dick. She disappeared around the time all those connected to heroes went into hiding."

"Do you think she's connected to the heroes?"

"I don't know. But it's better than the alternative."

"You mean better than the LDJ having her?"

"Yes. If she's in hiding, at least they don't have her."

"Commissioner Gordon? Do you know anything about my other friends?"

"Most of them are safe in their homes. At least the ones I know of. As long as they stay off the streets, they should be fine."

Dick knew Commissioner Gordon didn't know his hero friends, so he rephrased the question.

"Is there anyone, anyone at all, fighting back against the LDJ?"

The hesitation in Commissioner Gordon's stance told all.

"Do you think the LDJ have found them yet?"

"No. They haven't shown their faces since they attempted to hack the LDJ."

"Wait. Didn't Robin disappear before I did?"

"There's a new Robin. And a Batgirl too." Commissioner Gordon was not expecting the flicker of pain that crossed Dick's face at the mention.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" He worried. Dick looked away, proving the pain was an emotional one. Why would Dick feel hurt about the new Robin and about Batgirl? Unless…

Commissioner Gordon had always had his suspicions about who Batman and Robin were, but never had he ever confronted them about it. After all, the idea that Playboy Billionaire Bruce Wayne was Batman seemed ludicrous.

Still, the hurt in Dick's eyes at the mention of a new Robin, whom he probably thought had replaced him in Batman's heart, was unmistakable.

"The new Robin, though… he always insists on being called Robin Two. It seems the distinction between him and the first Robin is important to him."

"What does Batman think about that?" Dick inquired softly.

Gordon snorted. "Only Batman's proteges ever know what he's thinking. I have no idea."

"Mm." Dick murmured. "It's late. Am I staying in the guest room opposite Babs' room?"

"Of course."

Dick made his way up to the room, Commissioner Gordon behind him.

"If you need anything, don't be afraid to let me know. We'll pick some clothes up for you tomorrow."

Dick nodded and slowly, hesitantly closed the door between them.

* * *

 **Barbara ran home as fast as she could. An ally had relayed information that the Lords of Divine Justice were going after police. She prayed she could get to her father in time.**

Barely had her house come into view when a blast threw her backwards.

"No!" She cried, as she got up to find her home on fire.

She ran towards the doorway, which was blocked, and started clearing the debris with her bare hands.

* * *

 **Dick startled awake by a loud boom. The bed shook underneath him and a wave of heat washed over him.**

Tentatively, he opened his eyes, just to gasp out loud at the sight of flames enveloping the bedroom.

His feet hit the ground and he rushed for the door, hissing when the doorknob was hot but still managing to turn it. Barely had he reached the other side of the doorway when another blast caused the ceiling of the room he'd just exited to collapse.

Gulping, he ran for Commissioner Gordon's room. The man was on the ground where the doorway to his room had been. The wooden frame had collapsed on his leg.

"Get out of here, Dick! I would never forgive myself if you died while under my care!" Gordon shouted. Both he and Dick were beginning to feel the effects of the flames and smoke.

Dick looked around dizzily, praying the light hadn't gotten rid of all the shadows. He saw none.

Coughing, he got to work clearing the debris off of Commissioner Gordon's leg.

"Dick, please leave. Save yourself." Commissioner Gordon choked out.

The only response he got was, "Don't faint on me."

It took a couple minutes to get the burning wood off of Commissioner Gordon's leg. During that time, both he and Dick got steadily weaker.

They reached the stairs, Gordon leaning on Dick, just to find their way down to the first floor completely obliterated.

"We'll… have to jump…" Dick coughed harshly. Still no shadows around to help them. The flames were too bright. "You first."

"Dick…"

"You first!"

Hesitantly, Commissioner Gordon lowered himself to the ground and slipped off the edge onto the rubble below.

He turned back just in time for Dick to narrowly escape the collapse of the second floor. A distinct snap could be heard when he landed on his arm, unable to gain enough control to make a safe landing.

Commissioner Gordon made it to the boy's side just to find he'd passed out, something Gordon was on the brink of himself.

Using all his remaining strength, the commissioner dragged Dick's limp body towards where he could faintly hear voices on the other side of what used to be the front door.

He had just enough time to clutch Dick closer to him and see the roof beginning to collapse on top of them before he fainted.

* * *

 **They were in bad condition. Both her father and, somehow, Dick. Her father had a broken leg and was holding Dick, who was sporting a broken arm, close to him when they, she and the firefighters, managed to pull the debris off of them. Both had fainted from smoke inhalation and varying degrees of burns by the time they were freed from the rubble. They had been close to the collapsed front door, and the way the ceiling had landed had left a small gap just around them. Just enough to save their lives.**

Barbara was sitting in their hospital room - she had insisted her father and Dick were both put in the same room - when Jason called through the Bats' secret channel on the com link.

"Status report?" He asked tentatively.

"They're alive." Barbara replied softly.

"They?"

"My Dad and Dick."

"DICK?!"

"I wasn't sure it was really him, but apparently Lucius found him yesterday and they did a blood test. He said the blood test came out positive. A match. It's really him."

"Did the Lords target him too?"

"I don't know, Jason! I don't know anything right now!"

Before Jason could respond, a loud voice reached Barbara's ears. "Where is the police commissioner for this city?! We know he's here! We have sources!"

"I need back-up pronto!" She hissed into the com unit. "Get here as fast as you can!"

"Wha…" Barbara cut the connection before Jason could ask any questions.

She swiftly put on her cowl and utility belt. She'd have to keep them away from her father and Dick as long as possible. She didn't even know if a few seconds would even be possible, but she'd have to try.

"Babs…" A voice croaked. "Babs, is that you?"

Barbara, now Batgirl, spun around. Dick was awake.

"I'm gonna buy you some time." She said. "And I'm Batgirl, not Babs."

"Batgirl…" Dick murmured. "I need you over here and a grip on your Dad's arm..."

Batgirl blinked. "What?"

"No time... Do it now..." Dick forced himself up and looked around, fixating on something in the shadows.

Batgirl didn't know what he was up to, but he seemed to have a plan, so she pulled her Dad's arm to where Dick could reach it and stood near him.

"Now grab a hold of me."

"What?"

"I think he's in here, Bullet."

Batgirl grabbed Dick's elbow just as the door slammed open.

She barely noticed the shadows had moved to beneath them. What she did notice was a feeling like quicksand encompassing her body and darkness swallowing her up. The next thing she knew, Dick had gone limp again and they were somewhere else entirely. It took her a moment to realize they were in an underground bunker, not unlike the one she'd spent the last week or so in.

It was dark though. Gathering her courage, she decided to test if it was another BatBunker .

"Activate bunker!" She exclaimed. "Lights, on!"

She was startled when the lights flickered on and the computer started up.

"Recognized: Batgirl. Recognized: Robin. Identified: Guest Commissioner Gordon."

"Wow. Batman's really prepared for anything." She murmured as she looked around.

The BatBunker they were in was smaller than the one the team was staying in, but still had a supply of non-perishables, a computer, and a couple cots.

Her com link buzzed. "Batgirl! Your location has changed! What's your condition?! We're almost to the Zeta Tube!"

"I'm okay." Batgirl stated. "I somehow ended up in another BatBunker, but I don't know how."

"Are you alone? Are you safe? Do you still need backup?"

"I'm still with Commissioner Gordon and Dick. They're both still in bad condition. Backup is not a hundred percent necessary anymore but would be appreciated."

"Barbara? Is that you? It sounds like your voice…" Batgirl spun around to see her father waking up.

"No. I'm Batgirl. I work with Batman, remember?"

Commissioner Gordon pushed himself up and surveyed the room. "Where are we? How did we get here? I kind of expected to be brought to a hospital if we… Dick!" He looked around wildly, not calming down until he saw Dick lying on the ground right beside him. He put his hand on Dick's forehead, intending to push some hair out of the 15-year-old's face, but couldn't ignore the heat radiating from the boy's body. "Why, he's burning up!" Batgirl looked at him in alarm. "I mean he has a high fever."

Batgirl quickly started fiddling with her belt, pulling out a cloth and some pills. "See if you can get him to swallow these fever reducers. I'm gonna go find a sink so I can wet this cloth."

While her father did his best to force the fever reducers down Dick's throat, Batgirl looked around the BatBunker. It took her eight minutes to find the sink. Once she did, she quickly soaked the cloth in cold water, wrung it out, and hurried back to her father and Dick.

The wet cloth created steam when it made impact with Dick's forehead. Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon exchanged concerned glances.

"That's definitely not normal." Batgirl wasn't sure if it was her or Commissioner Gordon who said it out loud, but they were both thinking it.

"Batgirl," Jason's voice sounded through her Com Link. "I've managed to triangulate your position to a three-mile area, but I don't have an exact location. The closest Zeta is between one and four miles from you."

"I'll keep an eye out for you. Be outside in a minute." Batgirl replied.

"Robin Two, I presume?" Commissioner Gordon inquired.

"With others," Batgirl answered. "I've got to go outside to wave them down. Can you keep an eye on him?"

Gordon nodded and watched Batgirl locate an exit and leave the bunker. He turned his gaze back to Dick once she was gone.

"When you said you were lucky to be alive, I didn't realize how much you really meant it."

* * *

 **Samantha looked up when the group returned, tailed by Batgirl, presumably Commissioner Gordon, and** ** _oh gosh! Was that Dick?!_**

"What happened to him?!" She asked anxiously, giving them less than a split second to guess at who she was referring to before running up to Superboy, who was carrying Dick.

She quickly took stock of his state. "Quatanliliny." Everyone looked at her in confusion. "It's not a term you would know. Various Resistance groups used it to describe one of the states common in survivors. Basically, the chemicals that bonded to his DNA are overworked and they are heating his body to unsafe temperatures. We'll need to make Lilinil Doutry to treat him. Do you have a full supply of chemicals here?"

"I'm going to pretend I understood that." Artemis commented.

"What's Liminal Doctry?" Miss Martian asked.

"Lilinil Doutry is a chemical solution that treats Quatanliliny. I'll need Phosphorus, Fluorine, and Cesium."

"Cesium? Isn't that dangerous?" Batgirl asked. "Wouldn't most of those elements be dangerous, actually?"

"To normal people, yes. To those that have survived Bullet's experiments, though, it's a lifesaver, and the only way many of the survivors from my dimension are alive right now." Samantha retorted.

"How do you know he's a survivor of Bullet's experiments?"

"There's not time to explain right now. I say he has an hour and a half tops to get that injection."

Silence greeted her words.

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"No offense, but it's not like we know that much about you." Zatanna pointed out.

"I was training to be a nurse for the Resistance in the other dimension. Out of all of us standing here right now, I'm the only one who even possibly knows what to do for him." Samantha growled. "You have to trust me. The only other option is to let him die."

Batgirl read her stance while everyone else debated in whispers whether to trust her or not. Worry was evident, as was anxiety. And the way she kept checking Dick's pulse proved her point of not thinking they had much time.

Quietly, Batgirl snuck away from the scene towards where she knew the chemicals were kept. Agent A met her halfway, the requested chemicals, a syringe, and other most likely needed supplies already in his hands.

Their eyes met. They both knew that if they did nothing, Dick would die. Samantha was the only one who seemed to know what she was doing. Whether they trusted her or not was not the question. The question was if they were willing to let Dick die rather than give this girl a chance. Batgirl quietly took the box holding everything from Agent A. Dick's life was on the line. Was it worth the risk?

The answer was yes. It was worth the risk. He was worth the risk.

All eyes fell on Batgirl as she returned to the room with the box. The arguing stopped.

Batgirl roughly shoved the box into Samantha's hands. "This is your one and only chance. Don't do us wrong. Save him."

Samantha replied with a determined nod and rushed over to the table to unpack the supplies and get to work. Superboy laid Dick gently on a nearby couch. The boy moaned softly.

Time ticked by. It seemed to go both too fast and too slow. Too fast because Dick's life was on the line. Too slow because Samantha was making the solution carefully.

It took over an hour for Samantha to finish the solution to her satisfaction. By that point, Dick's heart was beating painstakingly slow and his body temperature burned any who dared to touch him.

Samantha put on gloves and wiped a spot on Dick's arm with a disinfectant cloth. Without a second thought, she plunged the syringe into his vein and emptied it swiftly into his bloodstream.

She took a step back just as Dick started convulsing.

Anger swept over the team's faces. Robin Two punched Samantha in the face.

"Look what you've done! He's in pain!"

"I never said it wouldn't be painful! Just that it would save his life! Besides, he was already in pain!"

The arguing continued, with multiple team members joining in while Samantha tried to defend her actions.

"Quiet!" Connor roared. The room went silent. Some of them noticed Dick's convulsions had stopped. After a moment of listening carefully, Connor spoke again. "His heartbeat's back to normal."

Commissioner Gordon, who had stood by watching all this, felt Dick's forehead. "His temperature is going down too."

All of a sudden, Dick bolted up and then scrambled backwards, falling off the back of the couch. As he recovered, Flash raced over to him. Unfortunately for both of them, his cowl was down.

As Flash stared into Dick's eyes, he saw terror growing in them. "It's okay," he said. "Dick, do you remember me?"

Dick gave a small, frightened nod.

"You know I'm not going to hurt you, right?"

Samantha, who had been cleaning up the supplies, glanced over. Finally noticing what was going on, she shouted, "Mr. Flash! Get away from him!"

Too little, too late. Shadow spikes began attacking Flash left and right.

A couple scraped him in his surprise, but he managed to get out of range of the rest.

"Dick! Calm down! That's not Bullet! It's Flash! Mr. Flash isn't going to hurt you! You need to calm yourself!" Samantha raced to Dick's side, dodging the shapes as she got closer to him. "Dick!" He was beginning to fall into a panic mode, a hole which she knew would be much harder to get him out of. "God! How did they do this? Um… **It's okay. You're going to be okay, Dick. Breathe. It's okay. You're safe."**

Dick slowly came out of his panic, recovering just in time to hear Samantha bark, "Put your mask thing back on! Now!" She turned back to Dick. "How are you feeling?"

" **Where is Wally?"**

Samantha blinked at his question before puzzling it out. "We don't know. We were hoping you could tell us."

" **I… can't remember…** "

"And I can't understand you."

Dick seemed confuzzled at first, but then it dawned on him. " **I'm back to speaking Romani**?"

" **It seems so, though I don't know what you mean by back**." Everyone turned to Alfred, who had just entered the room.

"You speak Romani?" Samantha inquired.

"Indeed I do," Alfred replied.

"Are we just going to ignore those black shape thingies?!" Robin Two exclaimed, bringing the attention back to what had just happened.

"Miss… whatever your name is… What can you tell us about Bullet?" Commissioner Gordon inquired.

"What does that have to do with…" Batgirl silenced Robin Two by putting a hand over his mouth.

"Well, what do you already know about him?"

"He's Flash's counterpart, and he seems to be leading the Lords." Aqualad answered. "And you have previously spoken about experiments and survivors."

"Well, it will take a bit to tell…"

"The more intel we have on our enemies, the better."

"Alright." Samantha took a deep breath. "Let me start from the beginning."


	10. Chapter 10

"It all started with a lab accident. A bunch of chemicals fell on Bullet and, despite almost dying, he got superhuman speed. Soon after, Bullet became obsessed with figuring out how to give people superpowers. He started with his wife and in-laws, who died not far in. He tried to use his infant nephew, but the nephew was taken away by social services before he could.

Angry with social services and on the run from the law, he ran into a couple of other convicts, now known as Ultra Lord and Demon. Together, they gathered all the convicts with powers they could find and started taking down governments. Within a few years, the world was theirs.

With no one to stop him, Bullet began picking kids off the streets to be his test subjects. With a proper amount of recovery time, some of those kids did gain powers. But since Bullet didn't give any recovery time to his test subjects, only those who the various resistance groups managed to rescue survived."

"Dick was a test subject, wasn't he?" Batgirl interrupted. "That's what those shapes were, right? They were manifestations of his powers?"

Samantha nodded and, after casting a glance at Dick curled up in the corner, continued. "The resistance I was a part of rescued hundreds of test subjects over the years. Many died before they reached the base despite efforts to save them. Some managed to hang in long enough to develop powers. Even then, over half of them died. Only a small percentage of the surviving rescued stayed with the Resistance. Despite warnings that Bullet doesn't just let his test subjects walk free, many left in an attempt to get home. Most were recaptured before they got that far. The survival rate was even lower among those who we rescued a second time. Those who got rescued twice rarely left the Resistance a second time. I estimate about a hundred people in the much larger number of those rescued got home, and scarcely were they able to stay there."

"What about Dick? Were you there when he was rescued?" Robin Two inquired.

Samantha took a deep breath. "He flatlined twice before the Resistance could get him hooked up to regulators from what I heard. The rescue crew fortunately, obviously, managed to revive him both times. He was still in recovery when his powers manifested. He had no control and using them made him weaker, so it was decided he had to learn to control them. He gained another ability during practice. Wally and I found that out the hard way. Soon after his second ability presented itself, our base was discovered and attacked. Dick managed to get the three of us out, but many didn't make it out before the cavern collapsed. Those who did were captured by the LDJ and treated like your Justice League, made into slaves with no control over their bodies. I took…"

Samantha was interrupted when the television nearby turned on by itself.

Bullet was on the screen. He asked someone, "Is this thing on?" before starting his announcement.

"Greetings citizens of this dimension! I'm sure you've all heard of me by now! At the very least, you have heard how your precious Justice League has been defeated! Speaking of which…" The camera spanned out to reveal several Justice Leaguers on their knees behind him. "I'm sure you're all wondering who these failures are, hmm?"

"No!" Dick scrambled forward, his voice distracting his teammates from the announcement.

"What?" Batgirl asked.

"He's going to unmask them!" Dick exclaimed.

Alarmed, his teammates turned back to the television screen. Sure enough, the only heroes on the screen were the ones who wore masks. Bullet had moved to stand behind Green Arrow, hands on the archer's head.

"Let's see who this fellow is first!" One by one, each hero was unmasked, until Bullet came to Batman, who was at the end of the line. Bullet tried to remove the cowl, but was electrocuted when he tried to lift it. "Aaaa-eeee!"

Batgirl and Robin Two laughed. "Batman's always prepared."

"Bullet will get around it." Dick practically whimpered. "He has complete control of him."

Sure enough, Bullet just scowled at the Bat. "Demon, get this annoyance to remove his own mask!"

Gasps filled the Batbunker when Batman's mask came off.

"Bruce Wayne?! But how?!" Artemis exclaimed disbelievingly.

"Playboy thing is all an act." Robin Two growled. "I can't believe that villain unmasked them."

"He's the one controlling this world right now." Samantha said. "Plus, it's not his dimension. The ripples won't affect him."

"That must make you Jason Todd then." Artemis pointed. "And you… well, I still don't know who you are. Wayne doesn't have a daughter."

Batgirl sighed. "I guess since everyone else's identities are known, it's only fair." She pulled her cowl off.

"Barbara?" Commissioner Gordon gasped.

"Yeah, it's me, Dad." Barbara murmured.

Before Commissioner Gordon could react further, Raquel jumped in. "Not wanting to interrupt the family crisis, but Bullet just put a warrant out for any family or allies of the unmasked heroes."

"Meaning none of us can go outside without being caught! Dammit! What do we do now?" Jason hissed.

"I think that the time for hiding is over." Aqualad declared. "We need to come up with a plan, and execute it."

"Covert Ops." Dick whispered. Everyone turned to look at him. "You're… We're a covert ops team. Our first mission should be on that level."

Barbara put her hands on her hips.

"And what might you be thinking on that end?"


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you sure it was a good idea to bring Dick?" Batgirl stressed for the umpteenth time.

Artemis glanced at her and whispered. "I know you're worried about him, Batgirl, but it was his plan. It wouldn't be fair to leave him behind. Plus, he'd just follow us anyways. It's better he's with us than on his own."

" _We're starting._ " Aqualad mentioned through the mind link.

Artemis and Batgirl refocused their attention on the entrance. A dark shape flitted past their view.

"Hey!" The guards shouted, racing after the shape.

Taking the cue, the two girls ran through the open entrance and ducked out of view as the guards came back in confusion.

" _Is everyone in?_ " Robin inquired a few minutes later. He had used a similar tactic to get the other members of the team in. Affirmatives came from all teams.

" _You and Superboy remember to stay out of sight._ " Aqualad reminded him.

" _Don't worry. I have no intention of having an encounter with Bullet… or any other of the Lords of Divine Justice._ " Robin replied, shivering at the idea.

The plan went smoothly until near the end, when the team members were escaping.

"Superboy!" Robin gasped, as his friend (and currently his protector) fell to the ground and started convulsing. An image came to his mind of the same thing happening to Wally, an image he had forgotten. "No!"

Before he made it more than a single step towards his friend, something hit him, and everything went black.

* * *

Miss Martian gasped out loud.

"What?" Robin Two asked as he and Zatanna made it to the rendezvous point near the Bioship.

"I lost connection with Robin and Superboy! Something happened! We have to go back!" She exclaimed as the rest of the team members on the mission, sans Robin and Superboy, reached them.

"Artemis and I will go." Batgirl barked. "Everyone else be prepared for a fast departure."

The two girls ran back the way they'd just come. Upon coming within view of the fortress, Artemis stopped Batgirl.

"We can't just charge in." She hissed. "We'll be caught. Do you have binoculars?"

Batgirl nodded and pulled out the mentioned item.

Artemis put the binoculars to her eyes and scanned near the entrance. "They were caught. I think they got Superboy with whatever they used to inject Superman."

"And Robin?" Batgirl whispered anxiously.

"I can't see him." At Artemis's admittance, Batgirl grabbed the binoculars from her. She was devastated to find that she couldn't find their friend either.

" _We've been spotted! Get back to the Bioship now!_ " Miss Martian's voice rang through their heads.

They barely made it back before the Bioship rose into the air and sped into the sky.

* * *

"You just left them?!" Samantha screeched.

"Superboy's lost to us. He's been injected with whatever." Artemis explained.

"What about Dick?!" Samantha demanded.

"We don't know. We couldn't see him, and we all would've been caught if we stayed any longer." Barbara rubbed her temples, just as upset as Samantha. "Don't you think we would've brought them with us if we could've?"

Barry put a hand on Samantha's shoulder to stop her from answering. "Regardless of how it happened, we're down two allies. We need a plan. Did you get a sample of the injection fluid?"

"Affirmative." Kaldur placed the test tube filled with the sample in Barry's hand.

"I'll start analyzing this. We need to know what we're up against." Barry walked away.

"What about DIck? We can't just leave him!" Jason growled.

"He may have been injected too." Artemis pointed out.

"Unlikely." Samantha scoffed. "He's one of Bullet's test subjects, remember? Bullet will want to run some tests on him, see what he's capable of."

"You're saying we need to plan a rescue." Barbara sounded quite obviously exhausted.

"If we don't, there's a good likelihood he'll die." Samantha pressed.

"Rescuing a prisoner will be much more difficult than stealing a sample." Raquel pointed out. "Even if they didn't suspect we were coming back for him, the security would be much higher. Add in that they probably do suspect us coming back, and the number of people guarding him will be through the roof. I wouldn't be surprised if they assign several leaguers to watch him."

"We have to at least try. We can't just abandon him." Zatanna pushed.

"We'll come up with a plan tomorrow. I think we all need some rest after the mission we just completed." Aqualad gave the final say, his tone daring anyone to argue further.

Begrudgingly, the team went their separate ways to rest up for the next day.

* * *

Dick came to slowly, mentally checking each of his limbs and body parts without moving. He instinctively knew he was in a bad situation, even before he registered the chain around his right ankle and the leather straps across his chest, wrists, and both ankles binding him to a table.

"I know you're awake, boy."

Dick stiffened at the sound of Bullet's sneer. He could hear the evil speedster circling him.

"So I see you joined this dimension's resistance. Perhaps you could tell me more about them."

Dick didn't answer, keeping his lips pressed together tightly.

Bullet let out what sounded like a sigh. Dick heard him pull a lever less than a second before electricity shot through his body.

"Ahhh!" Dick screamed. After a minute or two of electrocution, Bullet pushed the lever back the other way.

He hummed. "Let's see how long it takes to break you. Something tells me you won't be quiet forever, boy."

Somehow, Dick found the strength to last for hours and hours. When Bullet finally left, it was in frustration. Dick refused to budge through electrocution, waterboarding, and many other forms of torture.

At some point, his mind blanked out. He was awake, but couldn't think a single thought.

Bullet chained Dick's right ankle to a wall in a cell and left him there, but not before Dick overheard him saying something vital over a communication device.

"What they stole is just a strengthening liquid. It's not important and we have plenty of it. Even if they did manage to get to the other dimension where we're manufacturing the nanobots, the place is far too well guarded for that large a group to get in and out unnoticed." Bullet said more, but the rest didn't stick in Dick's mind.

The mission was a failure. The team had gotten nothing of value out of it and they'd lost Superboy in the process.

If he weren't so numb still, he would've slammed his fist against the floor, but his numbness allowed him to just think.

He was inside the fortress. And surely they were keeping the bag Wally had had on him somewhere. If he could find that bag and the portal they were using to jump back and forth, he could get the sample and find a cure, right? But how was he going to manage that?

A loose nail on the floor of the cell gave him some confidence back.

* * *

He'd managed to get out of the cell and find the portal and then the arsenal. The problem at the moment was that Demon was present in the arsenal with an individual who looked like a mechanic.

Dick managed to shadow himself to the opposite side of them and stole Wally's bag. He was about to be home free when he spotted what the mechanic was holding.

"The technology on this thing is beyond anything in our dimension. It's obviously Justice League tech, but none of the Justice League members we botted have access to it. Even that Bat-guy with the tech-savvy suit failed to log in." The mechanic explained. "It's beyond comprehension."

It was his glove. The one with the imbedded holo-computer. Dick thanked heaven he hadn't had the chance to tell Batman about the extra security measures he'd added to it before he was captured. Batman, especially controlled Batman, would not know how to get through those added measures.

The mechanic tossed the glove carelessly onto the table near Dick. "My men are still working on a way to hack into the device, but cannot at the moment."

"You have two more days. If you cannot get into it by then, consider yourself nanobotted." Demon swept out of the room, the mechanic trailing behind her slightly.

Dick took his chance.

Less than a second after Dick grabbed the glove, Demon turned around and spotted him. "Hey!"

As she ran towards him, Dick quickly shadowed to a shadowy area near where the portal was located.

The alarm went off seconds after he got to that spot. Dick huddled close to the wall as guards ran every which way, responding to the escapee alert.

Dick dared a glance at the portal. Everyone was so occupied looking for him, they had left it unguarded.

Taking a deep breath, he leaped out of his hiding spot and ran for the portal.

"Hey!" Only one person in his dimension saw him before he was through, but there were people on the other side of the portal.

Several dove at him but he dodged their jabs.

He managed to lose them and hide surprisingly quickly. The fortress in Samantha's dimension was quieter than he remembered. He didn't let himself relax at the notion. It was likely there were still people here. The LDJ would've left at least one Lord in charge of this fortress. He couldn't let his slight advantage go to waste by assuming no one knew he was here.

A panel out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. The weight of the glove in his hand reminded him he still had it.

He smirked… and downloaded the LDJ's entire database. It was primitive security. Samantha's dimension hadn't had the chance to prosper technologically as much as his dimension. He was through in an instant.

The information in the database informed him the nanobot manufacturer was not in the fortress, but actually somewhere in Bludhaven.

Schematics and guard patterns in the database led him out of the base easily without being caught.

He calculated quietly how long it would take him to get to Bludhaven by foot. A couple hours, at least. He began his trek.

* * *

"Good news. They put out a wanted poster of Dick. He escaped." Jason informed the team when morning came, having seen an image of the poster while surfing the web for information that could help with the rescue. "Several online forums are discussing it. They're wondering what he did to warrant extra attention. Some of them I think realize it's Dick."

"And for the bad news, I finished the analysis of the sample, and it's just a serum to strengthen whatever they're using to control the Justice League." Barry cut in.

"What?!" Several team members exclaimed.

"So we failed to get the right serum and we lost Superboy. Robin's missing and the LDJ are onto us." Barbara summarized in irritation, running a hand through her hair. "Gosh, is there anything we did right?"

"Most of us got out. That's something." Artemis pointed out.

"Yes, but most is not all. We need to find a way to get in and out without losing any members." Kaldur mentioned. "We also need to locate Robin. Robin Two, keep an eye on those forums. Let us know if anyone thinks they've sighted him. Batgirl, take another computer and find anything you can on the LDJ's current actions. Commissioner Gordon, if you can get ahold of any of your officers that are loyal to you and see what they know, it would be greatly appreciated. Flash, see if you can learn anything else from that sample. Everyone else, start thinking of ideas for our next course of action."

He was met with approval and consent all around.

* * *

Dick was grateful that the schematics for the nanobot factory were also present in the LDJ database he had downloaded. It allowed him to make a plan ahead of time.

Unfortunately, he arrived to a concealed corner near the factory just to find Powerlady and Waterwarp had beat him there. He thanked heaven Bullet didn't appear to be with them. He wasn't ready to face his current second worst fear just yet.

He had been glad to find that Bullet hadn't changed him out of the dark clothing he'd worn for the mission. It made it easier to maneuver in dark places. The sun was beginning to rise in the east though, so that advantage wouldn't be present much longer.

He climbed a tree that reached up to a high window. The schematics indicated he should be able to access the rafters from there.

Taking a deep breath, he sliced a shadow shape across several lower windows a good distance away from him. The distraction and sound allowed him to sneak in the high window onto the rafters without Waterwarp and Powerlady locating him. Unfortunately, the distraction also told them he was here. He'd deal with that later.

He crept over the raptors to some air vents just big enough for him. Honestly, these people needed better security. This was too easy.

He had located a small storage room in the building that was used to store nanobots before they were shipped off to the fortress. There were several such rooms, but he purposefully picked the smallest one so that he would have the least chance of being noticed.

Two guards stood in the room when he arrived. Thanks to Dick's training with Batman, neither stood a chance and they were taken down silently.

Dick took several tubes of nanobots and stuffed them in his bag.

The door burst open. It was Waterwarp and Powerlady.

Water rushed towards Dick, but the boy had gotten used to his powers enough by then to quickly shadow back to a hiding spot outside the factory before the water could reach him.

He shadowed several more times to as far as he could see. By the time he reached Wayne Manor, where he planned to open the portal, he was very dizzy.

Shaking his head in an attempt to dislodge the negative side effects of his powers, he fished for the secret pocket where Wally kept the device.

It occurred to him just then that he hadn't checked to make sure the device was in the bag. A moment of panic soon turned to relief when his hand landed on it.

He opened a portal and jumped through it, hitting the recall button to close the portal the moment he was through.

It took him a moment to notice who awaited him on the other side.


	12. Chapter 12

It was a stare down between Dick and his opponent. Neither moved their eyes from the other.

Dick felt his mouth go dry. He knew he wouldn't get away without repercussions, but this was a little too much.

He took a step backward, preparing to dart away. He was face down in the grass with a knee pressing into his back before he could make another move.

Dick squeezed his eyes shut. He had been so close. He should've known someone would be waiting. It made sense that they'd leave him there after they nanobotted him. There was a high chance Dick would return to this location after all.

"Fight it." Dick whispered, even though he knew his words would receive no response. "Fight it."

More pressure through the knee was all that changed.

A gust of wind alerted him to Bullet's presence before he could even think of using his bat-training. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the little escapee."

"Lemme alone." Dick murmured. His head was still spinning from getting to this location from the factory in the other dimension. He struggled slightly against the knee in his back. "Lemme go."

He hoped his words could distract Bullet from what he was planning.

"You are a little pain, aren't you? If you weren't such a successful experiment, I would nanobot you."

Dick took a deep breath, begging his body to stay conscious through his next actions.

He shadowed down to the Batcave, taking his opponent with him.

Extremely nauseous and moments away from fainting, he used the last of his energy, to flip his opponent, get out of his hold and restrain and blindfold him with materials around him.

His opponent started vibrating. Dick smirked and stated to the individual behind the controls. "Wally can't phase out of anything. Good luck with that."

The smile slipped off his face and he hurried to the main chamber of the Batcave, where the computer was.

Stretching and fighting to stay aware, he mumbled to himself. "Time to get to work."

* * *

When Roy heard the rumors, he didn't know what to think. He admittedly had been ignoring the Justice League, but hearing his two friends who were almost like brothers to him had both disappeared caused him to return briefly… if only to argue with Batman and Green Arrow and storm out again.

His search for the original Roy Harper had expanded after that to include Dick and Wally. He refused to stop searching. He had figured these 'Lords of Divine Justice' were a publicity scheme, but the unmasking had changed that perspective.

Hearing they were after Dick was what led to that moment, sitting on his motorcycle looking at Gotham before him.

After a few moments, he turned and zoomed off towards his first stop.

The Batcave.

* * *

Dick stood in front of Wally, a syringe in his hand. Whoever was controlling him had given up on getting him out of the ropes hours ago. Hours Dick had used to study the nanobots and attempt to formulate a cure. He had already tried two cures. Wally hadn't reacted to either of them.

"Sorry for using you as a test subject." Dick mumbled. "I just want you back, you know?" He took a deep breath. "If this one doesn't work, I'll try the next one on someone else, okay?"

No response. Dick reminded himself that people under nanobot control couldn't talk.

"Here goes nothing." Taking one more deep breath, Dick plunged the needle into Wally's vein and swiftly injected it.

No reaction. It hadn't worked. Dick sighed and walked away to go try something else.

Before he got out of the holding cell where Wally was tied up, he heard a gasp and movement. He spun around.

Wally was thrashing wildly, his face a slight blue color.

"Wally!" Dick raced back to his friend and untied the ropes, taking his friend into his arms just as the elder boy went limp. "No! Wake up! Don't die on me!"

A discoloration was spreading through Wally's body, visible through his skin. Dick was alarmed.

He shook Wally, but it just made the discoloration spread faster.

"No! No…" He started sobbing.

He heard footsteps heading in his direction and could feel panic engulf him.

He was alone and still weak from before. Basically a sitting duck should the LDJ find him here.

Before he could hide, a voice called out to him. "Dick? Is that you?"

Dick paused, not sure what to think. The voice was familiar. It sounded like Roy. But the team had admitted they hadn't heard from or seen Roy since all this began, so…

Roy entered the holding cell and took in the scene before him briefly before rushing to Dick's side.

"I killed him…" Dick barely recognized his own voice, choked with tears.

Roy put two fingers to Wally's neck. "No. You didn't. He still has a pulse." He turned his full attention to Dick. "Care to tell me why you think you might've killed him though?"

Wally made a choking sound and started coughing, as if he'd just been saved from drowning.

Disbelief colored Dick's face. Roy took the initiative to see if his fellow redhead was aware. "Wally?"

Wally shifted slightly. "Roy?"

Dick started crying again, obviously relieved.

"Dick? Dick! Are you okay?!" Wally asked, alarmed, before adding as an afterthought. "Why the heck am I blindfolded?" He tried to lift his arms to the blindfold, but his limbs felt heavy. "Ugh. I feel like I was just run over by a car or something." He suddenly remembered his last memory before blacking out. "Dick! Please tell me I'm not imagining things and you really are okay!"

"He's fine, Wally. See for yourself." Roy untied the blindfold and cast it aside before moving Wally off Dick's lap.

Wally blinked slowly. "Wow. The lighting hurts and it's not even that bright. Are we in the Batcave?" He looked over at Dick. "Hey. What did I miss? Why are you crying?"

Dick launched himself at Wally and hugged him tightly.

"Okay. That hurts. But something obviously happened to cause you to act this way. Roy, what's going on?"

"I'm still trying to get the story out of him. I came to Gotham because I heard there was a bounty on Dick's head. Found him here like this."

"A bounty?! What the heck?! Why's there a bounty on your head?!"

"The LDJ… they're here. They took control of the Justice League." He pointedly avoided saying 'and you' although the thought did cross his mind. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Before we jumped…" Wally replied sheepishly. Now that he thought about it, he did feel as if he hadn't eaten in days, non-speedster time.

Dick shot to his feet, wobbling a little, but Roy stopped him from running upstairs. "You're wanted. No way am I letting you go up there right now. Stay with Wally. I'll go get food."

Roy left, leaving Dick and Wally alone.

"Sit down. You look like you're about to collapse." Wally demanded of Dick.

Dick shakily lowered himself into a sitting position, leaning against the wall.

"Now, close your eyes."

"What?!" Dick gasped.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Dick. And we both know you'll be out like a light the minute you close them. Get some rest. We're in the Batcave, right? Safest place in Gotham. Possibly even the world."

Dick gave him a shaky smile. "I'm gonna go do something first. Be right back."

After a few minutes, he returned with a flash drive hung around his neck with string and a utility belt around his waist. He then lay down and tentatively closed his eyes. As predicted, he was asleep immediately once he did so.

Wally smiled. Dick looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. So much younger than life had allowed him. He couldn't help but wonder what was on that flash drive though.

Roy returned about half an hour later with a large tray covered with food. He needed two more trips back up to the kitchen to get the ton of food he'd made down to the Batcave. He knew the speedster's stomach. He ate a lot.

"Got him to sleep?" He noted, when he was finished bringing down the food and Wally was eating.

Wally swallowed what was in his mouth. "He looked exhausted. It's better he sleep now than drop during an emergency." He quickly finished the rest of the food.

Roy leaned against the wall. "True. Let's hope nothing…"

As if on cue, the sliding door to the holding cell shut automatically. The sound of a complicated lock clicking into place followed.

"... bad happens. That can't be good."

A gas started seeping in through the vents.

"Crap." Wally muttered while Roy let out a string of much worse curses. "We have to get out of here!"

"How? We're locked in!" Roy replied.

Wally started shaking Dick. "Dick! I know I said you could sleep, but something happened and now you have to wake up!"

Dick didn't respond, oblivious to the world.

"S-sedative…" Roy gasped as he caught a whiff of the gas. He fell to the ground mere seconds later.

Wally stared wide-eyed at the gas, holding his breath until he couldn't any longer. Soon, he was out too.

* * *

Wally was the first to awaken. He quickly noticed their surroundings had changed.

Instead of the holding cell in the Batcave, they were in a sterile white room that Wally assumed was also a holding cell.

Dick lay on a cot across from him. Roy was nowhere in sight.

The door to the room slid open and Roy walked in. He silently took a seat on the end of Dick's bed, eyes on Wally.

Wally shifted, but quickly noted his right ankle was chained to the bed and he'd been changed into different clothes. Closer inspection of his friends showed Dick chained in a similar way. The utility belt and flash drive were gone and Dick was wearing clothes similar to Wally. Roy, however, was still in his normal clothes and it didn't look like they'd searched him.

"Roy, what's going on? Why aren't you chained up like us?" Wally asked tentatively. Another thought crossed his mind. His speedster abilities made gases like the sedative pass through his system faster than that of average human. Faster than it could've gone through Roy's system. "How are you even awake?"

Silence was his only answer. Roy just sat there, staring at Wally, like a stiff guard.

Wally froze. Had they done something to Roy? Was he actually guarding them?

"Hey, dude. Stop staring at me like that." Wally forced a nervous chuckle. Roy didn't react. Wally's heart sank as his theory was basically confirmed. He forced his still-sore limbs to move himself into a sitting position. It was difficult with his ankle chained to the bedpost, but he managed it.

"Dude, what did they do to you?" He begged, praying Roy would answer this time.

Nothing, just the same stiff, silent position on the end of Dick's bed.

Wally looked away, unable to handle viewing his controlled friend anymore.

His eyes lingered on Dick's face. The younger teen was still out cold, a mixture of the sedative and exhaustion. It was easy to tell that he wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

Knowing there was nothing he could do and no one he could talk to until Dick woke up, Wally lay down again and stared at the ceiling, preparing himself for a long wait.

* * *

Samantha tried to catch her breath. She glanced over at Jason and Barbara. The last few hours had been harrowing and terrible. As far as they knew, only Samantha, Barbara, and Jason had managed to escape the Batbunker after it was found.

It had just been a trip to get supplies. Samantha and Alfred had gone. Unbeknownst to them, someone had followed them back.

Just a kid with a mean streak, possibly had been wronged by the League in the past. However, the kid posted his new location online with the comment 'Found the ones the Lords are searching for' before they could catch him.

Just like that, they were found.

Jason raised the alarm immediately once he saw the post was online. It was twenty minutes after they'd captured the kid and taken away all his electronics. Twenty minutes too many.

The LDJ made it to the Batbunker along with several controlled heroes. Samantha stayed back from the fight, as she didn't really have very good combat capabilities. The moment it was apparent they were losing, Barbara and Jason made a run for it, Samantha less than a step behind them.

They'd barely gotten away.

"What now? The entire team is injected with… whatever it is and we, the newbies basically, are the only ones left to save them." Jason groaned.

"What about Dick?" Samantha asked. "He hasn't been injected as far as we know."

"We can't base our plans on the off-chance that Dick can help us. He has more experience, yes, but we have no clue where he is." Barbara pointed out. "We'll have to come up with a better plan."

"What about Catwoman?" Jason suggested. "And the Light might not like that the LDJ took over before they could."

"You're wanting us to team up with criminals?!" Barbara muttered disbelievingly.

"It may be our only option." Samantha chimed in. "Maybe not a large group of them. But one or two villains that have leanings towards the good side might help."

"Catwoman then." Jason agreed. "Batman has been known to team up with villains during emergencies in the past, especially Catwoman, anyways. It won't hurt. Do you know where we can find her? Besides the fact she's obviously in Gotham?"

"Maybe." Barbara relented. "But we have to make it to a Zeta Tube first. Without being found. I'm not familiar with Zeta Tube locations in this area, and the one we've been using is even farther away now."

"We'll walk till we reach the next town then. And try not to be seen."

* * *

Dick awoke slowly. He was still drowsy when the feeling of a chain around his right ankle caught his attention. Confused, he moved his foot. It bumped into something. Or, rather, someone.

Tentatively, Dick opened his eyes. Roy was at the end of the bed, unmoving. The bedpost next to Roy held the other end of the chain that encircled Dick's ankle.

Eyes darting around, Dick then caught sight of Wally. He, too, was chained to the bed he was on. He looked bored.

Gulping, Dick quietly called out to his speedster friend. "Wally?"

Wally flinched before quickly moving his gaze to Dick. "Are you okay? You've been out for a while."

Dick bit his lip. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. Someone found us. They locked us in the holding cell, sprayed us with sedative gas, and brought us here. I don't know anything besides that." Wally replied. "I tried to wake you before the sedative came in, but you were too deep."

Dick sat up and glanced at Roy. "What's with Roy?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Beats me. I think whoever captured us is controlling him somehow. He's been sitting there staring at me without moving ever since I woke up. That was hours ago, in case you were wondering."

Dick's heart sank. "Why do you think they didn't try to control you?"

Wally shrugged. "No idea. Do you know?"

Somehow, Dick knew that was coming. He was the detective after all. "I think the LDJ injected him with nanobots." The next part was a complete lie. "I don't know why they didn't try to inject you." Dick figured they had, but his formula had worked as a vaccine. "Maybe Bullet thought you interesting."

Wally's eyes narrowed. "Nanobots?"

"It's what they injected the League with. But you wouldn't really know. They knocked you out before you could find out."

"Dick, what happened to me?" Wally drew out carefully. "Why is there a gap in my memory?"

"What do you remember?"

Wally's face scrunched up as he thought about it. "I remember jumping here. You were saying something was wrong. Then… a voice. It said you were right to be scared. I remember pain after that. And then… nothing. A black void. I figured I was unconscious, but the longer I was in the void, the more uncomfortable I became. There was no way out. After what felt like an eternity, I felt pain again. More pain than before. Then, I heard voices. I came to in the Batcave with you and Roy. You know what happened after that."

Dick shifted uncomfortably. Before he could fill in the gaps in Wally's memory, however, Roy stood up and grabbed him by the arms. He gasped. The door to the cell slid open.

Demon's heels clicked against the marble floor as she approached Dick. The teen was struggling like mad. A sonic screech limited his movement and disoriented him long enough for Demon to unchain him.

"Leave him alone!" Wally cried.

Demon snorted and snapped her fingers. Roy adjusted his grip to pin Dick's arms to his body and carried him out of the room. Dick was still trying to get away, but his kicks and struggles didn't gain him any leverage.

"I'll be back for you later." Demon shot at Wally before closing and locking the door to the cell behind her.

Dick was brought to what looked like an interrogation room, where Roy cuffed his wrists and then his ankles to the chair. A strap around his forehead made it even harder to move.

Demon sat in the chair across from him and stared at him nonchalantly. After a moment of watching him struggle, she removed a familiar flash drive from her pocket and dangled it in front of Dick's face.

"What is this?" She inquired.

"A flash drive." Dick mumbled.

"Yes, a flash drive. One important to you, I assume?"

"No." Dick muttered. He had made another flash drive just like the one in Demon's hands and hidden it in a nook in the Batcave only he knew about. As long as that one stayed undiscovered, the flash drive he'd had on him was unimportant.

Demon placed a laptop in front of him and plugged the flash drive in. She then uncuffed his right wrist. "Unlock it. We want to see what's on it."

Dick didn't move.

Rolling her eyes, Demon pulled out a dagger and circled the table a couple times. "Unlock it, or pay the price." She came to a stop behind Dick. "Do as we say and maybe we will let that friend of yours live."

Dick stiffened. No. Wally had to be of some use to them. If they were going to kill him, they would've done so already.

"Are you going to do it?" Demon asked. Dick hesitantly shook his head.

Less than a second later, pain shot through his left shoulder as Demon planted the dagger right below his shoulder blade.

A whimper escaped. Nothing more.

By the time Demon let up, at least an hour later, Dick had five more stab wounds in various places along the left side of his body. There were two in his left leg, two in his left arm, and another in his left foot.

Dizzy from blood loss, Dick barely stayed awake long enough to be carried into another room before passing out for the umpteenth time since this ordeal began.


	13. Chapter 13

**(A/n) Trigger Warning. A bit of gore at the end. (A/n)**

It took hours for Jason and Barbara to orient themselves and find a Zeta Tube. Samantha tagged along, trusting them to find the way.

"How are we going to get Samantha through the Zeta Tube?" Barbara asked when they got there.

"Batman's emergency code. It allows us to transport a civilian in cases of emergency." Jason replied. "I'll go first and enter the code to let her through."

Jason went first through the Zeta Tube, then Samantha, then Barbara. They arrived at the photo booth near Gotham Academy.

"Follow me. I know where she'll be." Barbara declared.

It didn't take long after that to journey to Catwoman's apartment, although they did have to detour a couple of times to avoid patrols searching for outlaws.

Catwoman wasn't surprised to see them. In fact, she was surprised it had taken so long for them to come to her. She also was surprised to see a stranger with them.

"Who's the girl with the braids?" was the first question to leave her mouth.

"An ally in this fight." Barbara replied. "Catwoman, we need your help. We're losing allies left and right, and we have reason to believe Robin and I are the only two heroes remaining free."

"We'll have to turn to non-heroes then." Catwoman exclaimed. "Let's see if Mr. Fox can help restock your gear while we brainstorm."

The three kids exchanged glances, but agreed to go with it.

* * *

Wally was starting to worry. He didn't know where they'd taken Dick; it had been hours, and no one had returned.

The door finally opened. His uncle was on the other side.

"Flash?" Wally asked tentatively, praying the man wasn't controlled like Roy.

His prayers went unanswered as Flash approached him monotonously.

The moment Flash unchained him, despite his sore limbs and the fact Flash was faster than him, Wally made a run for it.

He realized after a minute that the response time was slower than usual. That meant Bullet wasn't controlling Flash, and whoever was controlling Flash couldn't think at superspeed.

He ducked into an arsenal, spotting Robin's belt out of the corner of his eye.

Flash zoomed past a minute or two later, but his speed wasn't as fast as usual. He hadn't seen where Wally was hiding.

Wally loaded his friend's utility belt quietly with the stuff strewn around it.

He spotted some test tubes, corked, filled with an unknown substance. Some syringes lay nearby. He shoved the test tubes and syringes into his pocket.

Hearing someone coming, he dove into a hiding place. Demon stormed in and threw a familiar flash drive down on the table.

"Stupid boy! He wouldn't need the infirmary if he'd just tell me what's on the damn flash drive!" She froze a moment and then rushed to where Robin's utility belt had been. She glanced where the test tubes had been. Cursing, she hit the alarm, hissing into a walkie-talkie "The boy's escaped. I don't know how considering I just put him in the infirmary, but he has his belt and whatever was in those test tubes he brought with him. Find and capture him."

Wally waited for her to run out a good ways before zooming out of the arsenal, snatching up the flash drive as he went. He had to find the infirmary before it was realized that Dick hadn't been the one to escape. He wondered what was in the test tubes. Surely it was something important if Dick had had them in his utility belt.

He crashed into Roy. The archer turned around, but, since Wally's mind was still working at superspeed, he seemed to do so slowly, giving Wally time to come up with an idea.

He grabbed a syringe and filled it with the liquid in the test tube, hoping he wouldn't regret it.

He then injected it into Roy's arm before the archer could react.

The archer faltered and then fell. A discoloration spread through his body. Cursing slightly, Wally realized he couldn't just leave him now.

He scooped up his friend, ran him outside, dumped him behind a dumpster, and then resumed his search for Dick.

* * *

Roy's mind worked at sluggish speeds as he began to come to. The last thing he remembered…

He shot up, immediately regretting it when his limbs felt extremely sore. Reaching back, he felt his bow and quiver. Okay. Weird. Why did he still have those even though he'd been captured?

Come to think of it. Why wasn't he in a cell even though he'd been captured? Maybe he'd been rescued, but, if so, why was he alone?

A figure sped into his hiding place. Roy prepared to fight, but relaxed when he saw it was just Wally and a very injured Dick.

Wait…

"What happened to Dick?!" He exclaimed.

Wally looked at him in confusion. "You're not being controlled anymore?"

"Wait. I was controlled?" Roy's eyes widened.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Wally seemed suspicious.

"The sedative. Then, a black void?" Wally's eyes widened at Roy's admission.

"I saw the black void! Does that mean I was controlled at some point too?!"

"Wait! When I found Dick, he was crying and saying he'd killed you. Do you think…"

"...he found a cure for whatever they're using to control people?! There was this formula I found that belonged to him. I injected you with it on a whim, then…"

They looked at each other in shock and a little bit of horror.

"If they found out he's found a cure…"

"...he won't be the only one who's done for."

They both turned to Dick in sync as he moaned and began to stir.

"Owww."

"We've got to find somewhere safe to hide. Somewhere we can mass produce that formula."

"Star labs?"

"Too far away."

"Wayne Tech?"

Roy began to shut that down and then thought better of it. "Think Lucius can help?"

"Duh."

"Okay. You carry him, I'll keep guard. If we're seen, run ahead."

"Better idea. I'll run him to Lucius' office and then come back for you in a few minutes."

Roy paused before relenting. "I'll wait here. Be quick."

"Quick is my middle name."

"I though fast was."

"Same difference." Wally sped off, returning a few minutes later for Roy. "I left him in Lucius' office. He's not there right now, but that's okay."

They had just reached Lucius' office, when they heard, "What the hell?!"

"Huh. How'd he get here?" A familiar voice murmured.

Wally slid to a stop, blinking when he saw Catwoman, Barbara, Jason, and Samantha with Lucius. Dick was still laying on the couch in the position Wally had left him in. "Better question. How'd Samantha get here?"

"Better question. Where the hell have you been?"

"Better question. Why is Catwoman with you?"

"Better question. Why are you here?"

"Can we actually answer each other's questions instead of coming up with new ones?" Lucius interrupted.

Samantha and Wally each took a deep breath.

"We're here, with Catwoman, because we need all the help we can get. I'm here because the LDJ took control of the remaining resistance members and I want to save them." Samantha answered. "Your turn."

"We're here in hopes of mass-producing this formula Dick made." Wally dug a test tube out of his pocket.

"Is that…?"

"We think it's a cure and vaccine." Roy replied before Barbara could even finish the question. "But we're not a hundred percent sure."

As if cue, Dick groaned, beginning to come to.

"He needs a check-up." Wally mentioned. "I think they hurt him."

"I'll call Leslie." Lucius suggested.

"No." Catwoman quickly shut that down. "Phone lines are unsafe. Kid Flash can go fetch her."

Wally nodded and took off, returning a few minutes later with Leslie Thompkins.

"Ugh. Speedsters." Leslie groaned. "Can someone do a better job explaining? All I managed to get before I was rushed here was that someone needed medical attention."

"What vehicle hit me?" Dick moaned, slowly sitting up, swaying slightly. "Ugh. Why is my vision so blurry?"

Leslie caught him as he began to fall over. "Him, then?"

"Yeah." The rest of the people in the room chorused.

Leslie laid him down gently on his back. "Dick, I'm going to check for injuries, okay?"

"Leslie?" Dick mumbled, wincing as her fingers touched one of the stab wounds. "That hurts."

"I know, sweetie. What can you tell me about your injuries?"

"Six stabs, I think. I'm feeling woozy, so maybe suffering from blood loss? Bruises, definitely. Maybe a couple burns? I don't know what else."

"That's good enough. I'm gonna have to take him back to my clinic. He needs in-patient care and possibly a blood transfusion."

"Wait! My flash drive!" Dick struggled into a sitting position.

"Right here." Wally held it up.

"There's a formula on it. You need to… ugh…" Dick swayed dangerously. Leslie grabbed him and lowered him on the couch again.

"We get the picture. Mass-produce it. What's the password?" Roy pressed.

"Batman."

"The password's 'Batman'?"

Dick nodded slightly. "No one would think it that simple."

Wally tossed the flash drive to Lucius, who caught it. "I'm gonna run them back to the clinic. You get started on that formula. Everyone else can keep up the search for allies. We're gonna need them when it comes time to inject the formula in everyone who's being controlled."

He then scooped up Leslie and ran out the door, returning a few minutes later for Dick.

Halfway to Leslie's clinic with Dick, the worst possibility happened. They were found by Bullet.

The man raced into the path and Wally crashed into him. Both Wally and Dick went flying.

Dick landed a couple feet away and looked up just in time to see Bullet grab something sharp and turn, about to speed over to Wally.

"NO!" A sharp shadow spike shot out over Wally. Bullet didn't see it as he raced to kill the redhead.

Dick gasped as blood splattered everywhere. Wally looked up in horror as half of Bullet fell to either side of him.

"I… I…" Everything began to blur together, spinning colors erupted over his vision. He closed his eyes but all he could see was Bullet split in half.

"Dick!" He couldn't breathe. God. Why couldn't he breathe?! "Dick! Answer me!"

He felt a rush of wind, but it only caused his panic to rise. "I… I killed him… Oh god…"

"Dick, no! You didn't mean to!"

"I killed him… I killed him…"

"Dick! Take deep breaths! In… Out… In… Out…" A voice was trying to calm him down. Whose voice was it? He couldn't remember. "In… Out… Come on, Dick! You need to breathe with me! In… Out…" He couldn't breathe. He felt his mind go blank. A rush of wind. "Leslie! Help!"


	14. Chapter 14

"So we're down another fighter then?" Barbara asked as Wally finished his shaky explanation of what had happened. He seemed slightly traumatized by it, but, by the sound of it, Dick was worse.

"They'll be coming after us as soon as they find out." Jason realized. "We have to be ready."

"We don't have enough tubes of the formula yet for even all of the heroes, much less all of the other individuals who were nanobotted." Samantha pointed out.

"I need more arrows." Roy mentioned. "For this fight at least."

"There should be a stash somewhere around Gotham. Batman's always prepared." Jason stated.

"That's probably in the Batcave." Wally said. "Which isn't safe anymore."

"There's one beneath Wayne Enterprises." Lucius joined them. "Like Jason said, Batman's always prepared."

The teens exchanged faces of surprise.

"Lead the way," Roy said for all of them.

* * *

"No!" Dick looked up from his hospital bed at Leslie's shout. The door to the room he was in slammed open.

Ultra Lord stepped inside, flanked by Demon and Powerlady, the latter of whom threw aside an unconscious Leslie indifferently.

Dick looked around wildly, located a syringe of his formula that had been given to Leslie earlier, and quickly jammed it into his leg. He hesitantly looked up as his kidnappers-to-be approached. He was still stuck on the fact he'd killed Bullet, his mind only having cleared enough to take the single action of injecting himself with the formula.

"Well, well, well… the little boy decided to make himself useless for the most part." Ultra Lord sneered.

Dick looked up at him in fear. His head was beginning to fog again.

"Lucky for you, we can still get some use out of you." Ultra Lord grabbed his hurt arm.

Dick didn't make a sound, not even a whimper, as Ultra Lord scooped him up, putting extra pressure on his injuries.

He was tossed (literally) to Powerlady, who caught him with ease.

"What about the clinic?"

"Blow it up. There's nothing else we need here."

Dick could hear explosions as Powerlady strutted out the door of the clinic with him in her arms. It sounded distant, even though Dick knew deep down it was close by.

He closed his eyes. It was his fault. He shouldn't have killed Bullet. He shouldn't have let them find him. He shouldn't have let himself be shoved into the wrong dimension in the first place. He shouldn't have… he shouldn't have...

* * *

"Kid Flash!" Lucius called down to where the teens and Catwoman were suiting up and gathering weapons. "Get to Leslie's clinic! Now!"

Kid Flash didn't waste another second. He didn't ask what was going on. He was at Leslie's clinic in, well, a flash.

It took about ten minutes to get everyone out of the fire. He found Leslie unconscious in the room where Dick had been positioned. The realization that whoever did this, which was probably the LDJ, had taken Dick before setting fire to the place, evoked a string of curses which escaped through Wally's mouth.

By that point, there was a crowd of criminals outside, all who came to Leslie's clinic for treatment occasionally since she didn't discriminate.

One grabbed Kid Flash by the back of his suit. "What happened here?"

"The LDJ happened."

"Who?"

"The Lords of Divine Justice, those jerks from the other dimension. They grabbed..." Better not to say a friend. "... a kid, and then set the place on fire."

Word of the explanation spread through the crowd like wildfire.

By the time the rest of the remaining heroes got there, the crowd was unintentionally rallied against the LDJ. Who knew Leslie Thompkins had such a large following?

With their newfound allies at hand, the group was ready to take on the LDJ and loads of nanobotted individuals, including the Justice League and the Team.

* * *

Dick awoke slowly. Recognizing the fact he was tied up, he mentally accounted for all his limbs and then tried to remember how he got separated from Wally.

"There's an angry mob headed our way, sir."

The words brought the recent events crashing down on him. Wally. Roy. Bullet. Leslie. Ultra Lord. Powerlady. How did an angry mob get involved?

"They're flashing us, sir."

Was the angry mob a distraction for his friends? That would make sense, but how would they have found that many people?

"Send all our extras down there. Not the Metas. No need to waste Meta power on a stupid mob."

Dick wiggled his toes and fingers. All accounted for. No stumps.

"The boy's awake."

"Is the inhibitor collar on him?"

"Yes…"

"Then I don't care."

Dick decided to open his eyes since it seemed they didn't care he was awake. A few minutes passed as he took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in an advanced control room. Probably where they controlled the nanobots. All the LDJ except Waterwarp and Bullet were there along with some obvious underlings. Wait… Hadn't he killed Bullet? That must be why he wasn't there. He'd killed Bullet… oh god...

"Sir?" Dick used the speech to pull his mind out of the trauma-filled ditch.

"What is it now?"

"Some of the nanobots seem to be deactivating. I don't know how…"

"Bring up visual on that mob!"

"Yes, sir."

A video came up on screen. It was of a bunch of low-life criminals from Gotham fighting against the nanobotted people. They were injecting them with something?

"Dammit! They found a cure!" Ultra Lord cursed. He turned to his fellow LDJ. "Get the heroes and other Metas through the portal and pack up. Do what you want with the experiments. We have no use for them anymore."

"And him?" Powerlady kicked the cage Dick was sitting in lightly.

"Take him. He could prove useful yet."

* * *

The fight went well. Samantha and Lucius took care of bringing the group more bottles of formula syringes as they got more while Kid Flash zoomed throughout getting new syringes of formula to the front lines as they were used up and Batgirl, Robin, Catwoman, and Red Arrow fought on said front lines.

Still, something was fishy. They'd made it into the fortress and un-nanobotted almost everyone, but there was still no sign of the LDJ or the Justice League or the team. The only individuals on or related to the League they'd managed to find were Alfred and Commissioner Gordon, both of whom they un-nanobotted.

"Something's wrong. They never sent the Justice League after us." Batgirl brought up. "But they sent all those other people. Wouldn't they have sent the Justice League after they figured out we were winning?"

"Kid Flash, run through the fortress. See what you can find," Red Arrow commanded.

Kid Flash nodded and ran off. He returned a minute later, looking pale.

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"They fled," Kid Flash replied.

"Why would they flee if they still have our world's greatest… well, greatest weapons?" Batgirl asked.

"Kid Flash, where did they flee to?" Red Arrow demanded.

"The other dimension…" Kid Flash murmured.

"They're drawing us onto their home turf." Catwoman realized.

"We've got the mob. Let's follow them." Batgirl exclaimed impatiently

"They closed the portal they came here through." Kid Flash said. "I saw it closing. That's how I knew they were gone."

Samantha joined them. "What's going on? I don't see any nanobotted Metas anywhere."

"Samantha, how did you get here?" Red Arrow asked.

Samantha tilted her head. "I walked?"

"He meant to this dimension, Kitten." Catwoman replied.

"Oh. I snuck through the portal the LDJ made," Samantha answered. "Why?"

"Seemingly, they fled through that portal and closed it behind them." Red Arrow crossed his arms bitterly.

"And the League…?" Samantha's heart sank.

"Gone," Wally answered, "The LDJ took them with them."

"What now?" Samantha asked.

"We'll have to find the people who made that device…"

"They're dead." Samantha interrupted Red Arrow.

"Dammit." Red Arrow grumbled. "Then how are we supposed to get there?"

Samantha looked pointedly at Wally.

"Don't look at me! Dick had it last!" Wally threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "And it only goes one direction! It was reverse-engineered so that we could get back!"

"Mind cluing the rest of us in on what you're talking about?" Batgirl demanded.

"Dimension-jumping device. The one that got Wally and Dick to my dimension in the first place." Samantha tugged at one of her braids. "If we don't leave the portal open, we'll have to reverse engineer twice in order for you guys to get back here with the Justice League. I suggest we reverse engineer it to go the way it went originally and then leave a couple people to guard the portal. My people are going to be waking up from the nanobots soon. Some of them can guard it if necessary."

"We don't even know where the device is," Wally reminded her.

"We'll worry about that later. We need to comb the castle for anyone the LDJ were keeping prisoner, and deal with the disappointment of the people who wanted to take them on."

"Right. Let's get on that."

 **-End of Arc 3-**


End file.
